


Dangan Ronpa: World Despair Summit

by unavoidablekoishi



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Fangan Ronpa - Fandom, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-14 03:23:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11774490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unavoidablekoishi/pseuds/unavoidablekoishi
Summary: Do you ever have that moment- that moment before you wake up where you’re somewhat conscious and you’re aware that you’re asleep- and then you wake up for real?That’s how I feel and how I’d continue to feel for days to come- it’s an unsettling mix between consciousness and unconsciousness; certainty and uncertainty…...hope and despair.16 Ultimate students from all over the world wake up in a situation one could only call the 'World Meeting of Despair'.





	1. PROLOGUE 1: ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE

  _Do you ever have that moment- that moment before you wake up where you’re somewhat conscious and you’re aware that you’re asleep- and then you wake up for real?_

 

_That’s how I feel and how I’d continue to feel for days to come- it’s an unsettling mix between consciousness and unconsciousness; certainty and uncertainty…_

 

_...hope and despair._

  


??? - “H...mm?”

 

_Right now, I’m drifting in that odd void between consciousness and unconsciousness and as I choose to pry my eyelids open, I’m met with something shockingly unfamiliar._

 

??? - “...What…? Where’m...I?”

 

_My head aches horribly but the migraine is massively overshadowed by the fact I don’t know where I am. I sit up and I’m lying on a polished wooden table, large- it stretches all the way from each ends of the room with leather chairs on each side._

 

??? - “Bloody…’ell- wha’?”

 

_It’s a conference room. Nobody’s here, but it’s surprisingly clean. I slip off the table and inspect the room._

 

_It’s a long room, to match the long table- a typical conference room but on the far end is a big screen with the Union Jack on it. Is that...because of me?_

 

_Speaking of me, not that I do it much, I’m able to remember who I am though the memories of how I came to be here…? Not so much._

 

_My name is Rupert- I’m...from the UK and I’m the Ultimate Brewer._

  


**UNITED KINGDOM - RUPERT WENTWORTH - ULTIMATE BREWER**

 

_As for where I am, how I came to be here and why I’m here I haven’t the foggiest but if I want to find out- I’m clearly not going to find out in here. Guess it’s time to head for the door._

 

_I pull the door open, slightly marvelling because this place is bloody posh, only to be met with...something._

 

_Or someone._

  


??? - “Wahey, easy there! I was lookin’ for ya!”

 

_I should be alarmed and defensive, but I just look up at the hulking man before me. I spy the pin of the American flag on his shirt pocket. As if his overbearing accent didn’t give it away…_

 

RUPERT- “Lookin’ fer me? Why’sat?”

 

_He’s clearly taken off guard by my accent and I suppress a smile. After a moment of processing what I’d just said, he beams. Christ, this man is too loud just to look at._

 

??? - “Well, you aren’t the only one here!”

 

_Clearly._

 

??? - “There’s a whole bunch of people down in the main hall on the left- I was sent to look for others who were waking up!”

 

_He holds his meaty hand out to me with confidence._

 

??? - “My name’s Kenneth Lloyd- or just Kenny if you would. Ultimate Peacekeeper!”

 

**UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - KENNETH ‘KENNY’ LLOYD - ULTIMATE PEACEKEEPER**

 

_I take his hand- mine is dwarfed by his as he just flat out holds my entire hand and shakes it._

 

RUPERT - “Um…Rupert. Rupert Wentworth.”

 

_Peacekeeper seems awfully ironic for an American- maybe I’m just prejudiced._

 

KENNY - “Nice to meetcha! Can I call you something for short? How about...Roo?”

 

_I withdraw my hand quickly._

 

RUPERT - “No’ a chance. Rupert.”

 

_He chuckles lightly, entirely unperturbed._

 

KENNY - “Rupert it is, then! C’mon, we’ve gotta go and find the others.”

 

_Kenny leads me out of the room and down a long corridor, with plenty of other doors with flags on them. I spy Russia and France off the bat but Kenny is almost physically dragging me down the corridor towards the main hall._

 

RUPERT - “Dya….know why I’m ‘ere?”

 

KENNY - “Nope! Don’t think any of the others know either…”

 

RUPERT - “Then...can you remember anythin’ before bein’ ‘ere? I can’t seemta remember a thing…”

 

KENNY - “You aren’t the only one….trust me. We’re all turned around because of this.”

 

_The solemn line of questioning plunged the conversation into silence, until Kenny smiles cheekily._

 

KENNY - “So what did you say your talent was again?”

 

RUPERT - “I din’t, but I’m the Ultimate Brewer.”

 

KENNY - “Brewer...like as in, beer? You make alcohol?”

 

RUPERT - “Mainly cider, but yeah. Tha’s the general idea.”

 

_Kenny eyes me with a lopsided grin._

 

KENNY - “You’re too young to drink! Don’t go breakin’ the law, will ya?”

 

RUPERT - “S’illegal to buy, no’ to drink. Our rules are diff’rent to you yanks.”

 

_He gives a loud laugh at the nickname, taking no offense as we approach the door. He kicks the door open and my eyes immediately fall on a large group of people, some in a crowd and some at the edges of the room._

 

_Why are we here again?_

 

KENNY - “Found him! The British dude!”

 

_He practically holds me up like a trophy._

 

??? - “Put the poor guy down, Kenny.”

 

_Kenny neatly sets me down and I’m approached by a hulking, dark-skinned man. What is with all these huge guys around…?_

 

_He, too, holds out a hand, but his aura reads calm friendliness instead of confidence._

 

??? - “Kamogelo Bosman. Ultimate Linguist, all the way from South Africa!”

 

**SOUTH AFRICA - KAMOGELO BOSMAN - ULTIMATE LINGUIST**

 

_He seems like a decent bloke, far calmer and more collected than Kenny. I take his hand and he shakes it lightly._

 

RUPERT - “Rupert Wentworth. Brewer. Jus’...Rupert, thanks.”

 

KAMOGELO - “Of course. Nice to meet you, my friend.”

 

RUPERT - “So...you’re the linguist? They speak a lot o’ languages in South Africa, right…?”

 

KAMOGELO - “You’re right about that but my skill as a linguist is much broader than just South Africa. I can speak fluent English, French, German, Japanese, Chinese and Italian, as well as an additional twenty-three languages!”

 

RUPERT - “Twenny-three...like...actual twenny-three languages. Huh, I can barely speak fluent English…”

 

_Kamogelo lets out a roar of laughter._

 

KAMOGELO - “Your accent is a riot, Rupert! Good luck getting some of the others to understand you- a few of them struggle with English so you might have to be a bit patient.”

 

RUPERT - “Good thing we go’ a translator then, innit?”

 

_He gives me a thumbs up._

 

KAMOGELO - “I’m here all year!”

 

_As Kamogelo leaves to talk to a small group of boys, I take the time to look around- I guess I’m going to have to talk to all these people...but nothing or nobody has explained just why the hell we’re all here? How did these guys know to come to the hall- or was that just decided by Kenny?_

 

_Before I can ask, a rather shiny-eyed girl is standing inches away from me with an intent smile. She leans over to inspect my face closely. From what she’s wearing and the bindi on her forehead I’m going to guess she hails from a certain part of Asia._

 

??? - “Rupert! That’s your name!”

 

_I nod silently. She claps._

 

??? - “That is a really nice name! My name is Lotika Taneja and I come from India! There are lots of names for my talent but Theologist seems to be the chosen one!”

 

**INDIA - LOTIKA TANEJA - ULTIMATE THEOLOGIST**

 

RUPERT - “Nice to meetya.”

 

LOTIKA - “You can call me Loti if it’s much easier for you!”

 

RUPERT - “Awright. Jus’...don’t call me Roo.”

 

_I glare at Kenny. Lotika just laughs, high pitched and merry._

 

LOTIKA - “Then it will just be Rupert!”

 

RUPERT - “You’re...are you a Hindu?”

 

_Lotika claps her hands together, seeming to emit a warm aura._

 

LOTIKA - “You notice well! I am a Hindu! Do you know much of Hinduism?”

 

RUPERT - “Um...aside from...the dot, no.”

 

_I gesture loosely to her forehead and she laughs merrily._

 

LOTIKA - “Ah, but Rupert, do you know what it symbolises?”

 

RUPERT - “Um...no.”

 

LOTIKA - “The spot here is the sixth chakra! Concealed wisdom! It represents the third eye!”

 

RUPERT - “The third eye…? In’t that like...seein’ the future or summat?”

 

_Lotika pauses, before bursting into laughter. Clearly that wasn’t the right answer._

 

LOTIKA - “There is much I need to teach you! If you’d like to listen!”

 

RUPERT - “Maybe when we figure out wha’s goin’ on.”

 

LOTIKA - “Gladly! Namaste- Rupert~!”

  


_I nod my head in appreciation- do all of these people speak English? That somehow seems very unlikely with so many people from so many places. I can see two people in the corner nattering to each other in French._

 

_Kenny spies me watching them and promptly pushes me over to them and I’m close to yelling at him to unhand me._

 

KENNY - “C’mon, Rupert, you gotta meet my buddy from up north. Hey- Claude!”

 

_A blonde boy responds to the name, looking up at Kenny from behind his scarf. He appears to be dressed for the winter with a long navy coat and boots. Judging from his attire, the fact he is able to speak French and how Kenny referred to him as a ‘buddy from up north’ there’s only really one place he can be from._

 

KENNY - “This is Rupert, from the UK. He just woke up.”

 

_Now I can’t even introduce myself. Claude shoots me a soft smile but whether it’s a greeting or a smile of sympathy, I’m unsure._

 

CLAUDE - “Welcome, Rupert. My name is Claude Lemaire. I’m the Ultimate Ice Sculptor.”

 

**CANADA - CLAUDE LEMAIRE - ULTIMATE ICE SCULPTOR**

 

KENNY - “You should see his sculptures. They’re impressive.”

 

RUPERT - “You know each other?”

 

KENNY - “Huh? Nah, not really, but he’s the first guy I talked to here. He’s a neat dude. Speaks good French too!”

 

RUPERT - “So what part of Canada d’you live in?”

 

CLAUDE - “Quebec, but I spend my time travelling all over Canada.”

 

RUPERT - “Sounds...cold.”

 

_Claude laughs quietly._

 

CLAUDE - “You’d be right about that. I can’t imagine the Brits are too used to cold weather…?”

 

RUPERT - “Depends how far north you live. We can’t ‘andle the heat though, that’s fer sure.”

 

CLAUDE - “Oh I can understand that well. Ah, here- you should meet this lovely lady.”

 

_Claude smiles appreciatively, before shooting a few words of French to the woman beside him. She has a perpetually elegant appearance- not so much as the blonde woman I’ve seen lurking around- but with her wavy, mint coloured hair and loose, flowing clothing she appears calm and cool. She then turns to me._

 

??? - “Rupert, non?”

 

_My name sounds horrible coming from her mouth but it can’t be helped._

 

RUPERT - “Uh...Aye…”

 

??? - “Rosalie Chagnon. Ultimate Architect.”

 

**FRANCE - ROSALIE CHAGNON - ULTIMATE ARCHITECT**

 

_As opposed to her soft, calm look her accent is harsh but she appears decent. I hope she’s not going to try kissing my cheeks._

 

RUPERT - “S’nice to meetya…”

 

ROSALIE - “Enchanté.”

 

KENNY - “Oh, you’re a brewer right? Maybe you can talk about wine together.”

 

_I eye Kenny, before shrugging._

 

RUPERT - “I said before, my specialty is cider, no’ wine, but I know enough ‘bout it.”

 

KENNY - “Wine’s way too bitter for me!”

 

_He sticks his tongue out and grimaces, much to Claude’s amusement._

 

ROSALIE - “You have the tongue of a child.”

 

_Kenny fakes exaggerated offense and Claude laughs, shooting another line of French towards Rosalie. She nods coolly and the two begin to chat again, leaving me in Kenny’s grip once more._

 

_He scans the room, looking for somebody I haven’t been introduced to yet, before his gaze falls upon a group of girls in the corner, made up of a towering woman, a tiny little girl and two in between. He strides over with me in tow before hoisting me over to them._

 

KENNY - “Hello, ladies! Care to introduce yourselves to Rupert, here?”

 

_I feel utterly humiliated by this exchange as Kenny practically lifts me up by my collar._

 

??? - “Kenneth, put the poor man down. He can stand on his own.”

 

_The towering woman scolds him and Kenny merely laughs. She must be the tallest one here, wearing a neat blue uniform and a cap to match. Judging from her thick accent, she’s German- or at the very least, comes from a German-speaking country. She suddenly stands to attention._

 

??? - “Ich heiße Konstanze Hartmann. Border Security.”

 

**GERMANY - KONSTANZE HARTMANN - ULTIMATE BORDER SECURITY**

 

RUPERT - “Border...security?”

 

_The profession seems oddly out of place for somewhere as welcoming as Germany but she doesn’t look like a woman you want to get on the wrong side of. Judging by the size of her she could probably pick up both Kenny and me at the same time._

 

RUPERT - “That seems...a li’l weird. Does Germany ‘ave border control?”

 

KONSTANZE - “It’s not so much border control- we do not have strict borders but my job consists of making sure people are not disrespecting our country- or the surrounding countries for that matter.”

 

RUPERT - “Dis...respectin’?”

 

KONSTANZE - “Well I have had numerous instances where people think it’s acceptable to stand on the edge of the border and urinate onto the other side.”

 

_I can hear Kenny snorting behind me and the thought of it is admittedly hilarious, but I can tell Konstanze takes respect seriously. I summon a more solemn face and nod in agreement._

 

RUPERT - “I...I see….”

 

KONSTANZE - “And my job does not necessarily revolve around my home country. Though I prefer to stay in Germany, I’ve worked all over the world to keep borders secure. I do find it saddening that walls are often built around countries to keep people out. I do not believe that is the way the world should be.”

 

RUPERT - “I think there’s a law in a place in Western England where you can shoot a welshman with a longbow if they cross over after midnight.”

 

_Kenny’s snorting now turns into full-blown laughter. Konstanze’s face twists into mild confusion._

 

KONSTANZE - “That’s...fascinating. On a different note, allow these ladies to introduce themselves to you.”

 

_The next woman- or...girl, Konstanze gestures to is definitely something. She’s remarkably small, even by a child’s standards, as she waves up at me. Her entire ensemble screams ‘China’, with long, long plaits, puffy trousers and a large wicker basket hanging from her tiny back._

 

??? - “Niiii Haaaooo~!”

 

RUPERT - “Oh ’ello.”

 

_She bounces on the balls of her feet with delight as she begins to introduce herself._

 

??? - “Zhou Jingyi! Jingyi is...am…”

 

_She pauses for a moment, looking incredibly deep in thought, before looking up at the taller asian woman besides her. The taller woman, dressed in a rather fancy-looking kimono gives a barely audible sigh._

 

??? - “Delivery Girl.”

 

??? - “Devilry Girl!”

 

??? - “That too is correct.”

 

**CHINA - ZHOU JINGYI - ULTIMATE DELIVERY GIRL**

 

RUPERT - “You look pretty young…how old’re you?”

 

_Jingyi counts up on her fingers, mumbling the English numbers under her breath before stopping short._

 

JINGYI - “Um...Fi’teen!”

 

_She’s fifteen?! Whoops...she looks six to me, but guess I was wrong. Her face is chubby and youthful, with sparkly, beady eyes and rosy cheeks so there’s no wonder I thought she was young._

 

RUPERT - “And you’re a delivery girl? In China, innit?”

 

JINGYI - “Jingyi...live’s in...Xinyang! But Jingyi go all over China!”

 

_She appears proud of her introduction, despite her poor English, but we can’t all be multilingual. Maybe I should learn some Chinese to help her out..._

 

_As Jingyi becomes distracted by Kenny, the woman to assist her turns to me. Her eyes are partially covered by the low fringe and it appears like she’s constantly glaring at me and it slightly ruins her elegant appearance._

 

??? - “Kawase Suzuhana. I play the Koto.”

 

**JAPAN - KAWASE SUZUHANA - ULTIMATE KOTO PLAYER**

 

_Her accent, too, is thick but her English is far better than Jingyi’s - which makes me feel rather guilty by the fact I can’t speak anything other than English but apparently language barriers aren’t an overwhelming problem here._

 

RUPERT - “Nice to meetya…”

 

SUZUHANA - “I’m sure.”

 

_Guess she doesn’t think so. I glance over at Konstanze for help- she’s chatting with another woman. When Konstanze catches my eye, she stands back and gestures to the girl, who looks expectantly at me._

 

_She’s the last woman in this little group- a fair-skinned, dark-haired woman with almost horrifically orange eyes but her English is perfect._

 

??? - “My name is Idabella Hagerstrom- I come from Sweden and I’m a nanotechnologist.”

 

**SWEDEN - IDABELLA HAGERSTROM - ULTIMATE NANOTECHNOLOGIST**

 

_Suddenly the perfect English makes sense- but a nanotechnologist? That’s one hell of a talent- especially since she’s dressed in the rattiest dress I’ve ever seen but I guess it is decorated with atoms. She seems nice, I suppose._

 

RUPERT - “I’m kinda thick, so I dunno what tha’ means. Summat to do wi’ small things?”

 

IDABELLA - “Your accent is certainly curious! And I suppose you may be right- the term nano would refers to things at a certain scale. It’s the unit prefix below micro- meaning one billionth.”

 

RUPERT - “So...summat tha’s ‘nano’ is one billionth of summat?”

 

_She laughs sheepishly._

 

IDABELLA - “It’s...a bit more difficult than that but I suppose you have the right idea…”

 

RUPERT - “Ye can just say I’m thick- I already know that.”

 

IDABELLA - “No, no- it’s a difficult subject for sure! Besides, a brewer is an equally respectable profession.”

 

RUPERT - “Don’t hafta make me feel better, sweetheart. I know where I stand.”

 

_We share a laugh, breaking the ice and my first impression of Idabella is now pretty good but now that I have a chance to speak without Kenny dragging me elsewhere--_

 

RUPERT - “Any you know what we’re doin’ ‘ere?”

 

_They all glance at me and between each other with uncertainty, before Konstanze speaks._

 

KONSTANZE - “I’ve been trying to discover that reason for myself. None of us know.”

 

IDABELLA - “The other rooms- the ones we woke up in- they’re all empty of clues. There’s a door the other end of the corridor but it’s locked tight. Jingyi even tried kicking it.”

 

JINGYI - “Jingyi Kick!”

 

_She kicks Kenny straight in the shin and I snort as Kenny looks incredibly offended by this attack. He eventually smiles and gives Jingyi a high-five._

 

RUPERT - “Issat...the way out do you reckon?”

 

IDABELLA - “I’d be inclined to believe so...but we were told to gather here for the time being.”

 

RUPERT - “S’at right? By who?”

 

KONSTANZE - “It was an announcement on the screens in our...rooms. They told us to come here and wait but I think you may have still been out cold at that time.”

 

_So it wasn’t Kenny who dragged everybody here._

 

RUPERT - “So..are we all ‘ere?”

 

KENNY - “There’s...fifteen of us here- I counted sixteen rooms which means somebody else is still asleep. I’ll go grab ‘em but I think when we get back we should have a little group meeting.”

 

KONSTANZE - “That sounds acceptable.”

 

_He grins and struts to the door leading out into the corridor. A moment of silence passes before--_

 

SUZUHANA - “I do not trust him.”

 

RUPERT - “Yeah, I...understan’ that.”

 

_She glares at me._

 

SUZUHANA - “I do not trust you either. The both of you are by far the most suspicious here.”

 

_Seriously, what the bloody hell did I do? Suzuhana really has it out for me for some reason..._

 

KONSTANZE - “Suspicious or not, we all may need to work together to find out what is going on. Set your personal feelings aside, Suzuhana.”

 

_Suzuhana’s face remains unchanged as she turns to talk to Jingyi, signalling the end of the conversation._

 

IDABELLA - “Whilst Kenny is gone, I think you should introduce yourself to the others. Zlata is over there in the corner and the rest of the guys are over there too. It was nice to meet you Rupert!”

 

_She smiles widely at me and say my temporary goodbyes as I head to Kamogelo’s group- the woman who I now know as Zlata, stands in the corner but...christ, as if I’m gonna go over and talk to her. The woman looks scarier than Konstanze, Suzuhana and Rosalie combined- and the heels don’t help either._

 

KAMOGELO - “Hey, Rupert. You haven’t met these guys yet, have you?”

 

??? - “Rupert- you’re a Brit right? Saw you gettin’ dragged around by the American.”

 

_This man is dark-skinned with a shaved head- he appears to be wearing a tight-fitting sports uniform as he holds his hand out._

 

??? - “Leandro Ramos- I come from Brazil. Best Handball player in the world!”

 

**BRAZIL - LEANDRO RAMOS - ULTIMATE HANDBALL PLAYER**

 

_He shakes my hand roughly and with good intentions- I return the gesture._

 

RUPERT - “Can’t say I ever heard of the sport….”

 

LEANDRO - “Well it’s not up there with football and baseball, but it’s what I’m good at and what I enjoy.”

 

RUPERT - “Tha’s usually the best reason to do anythin’.”

 

LEANDRO - “You seem like a decent guy, Rupert. Nice to meet you.”

 

KAMOGELO - “The two of you are polar opposites man--”

 

_He lifts one of my arms._

 

KAMOGELO - “You’re pretty weedy. No offense intended, of course.”

 

RUPERT - “I were never a sports person. Prefer to watch than take part.”

 

LEANDRO - “Well, every sport needs a spectator. I wouldn’t think it would be strange for you. Check this guy out.”

 

_He gestures to an equally weedy looking boy with long, flame-red hair under a wide hat and loose, yet smart clothing. He wrings his hands together, before timidly holding one out._

 

??? - “Ozzie Irwin. I’m a zoologist.”

 

**AUSTRALIA - OSWALD ‘OZZIE’ IRWIN - ULTIMATE ZOOLOGIST**

 

RUPERT - “Yer name is Ozzie...an’ you’re an Aussie.”

 

OZZIE - “It’s better than Oswald. I’d rather have a pun than a name from the thirties.”

 

_He laughs, lightly, curling a lock of hair around his finger in a habitual manner. I can see what Leandro meant- usually the people on television who work with animals are pretty built and tanned but Ozzie is thin, bony and pale. He seems a bit timid, especially around all the hulking, muscular guys but the other guy next to him seems just as weedy as us but he’s got a glint in his eye and an overly cocky expression. He seems to have a big wooden paddle strapped to his back._

 

??? - “Ciao, Ciao- Marcello Marino! It is a pleasure to meet you.”

 

**ITALY - MARCELLO MARINO - ULTIMATE ROWER**

 

_He takes my hand, does not shake it, but speaks in the most seductive voice and as he leans down to press a kiss to it, I pull my hand away abruptly, causing the other guys to laugh._

 

KAMOGELO - “He’s a weird one, alright. Don’t take him seriously.”

 

RUPERT - “I weren’t about to. Looks like a right pillock.”

 

_Marcello pouts as the guys erupt into another round of laughter. Kamogelo roughly pats Marcello’s back and he flinches from the rough contact._

 

KAMOGELO - “So you’ve met everybody, right? Guess we’re just waiting for Kenny to get back with whoever’s left.”

 

RUPERT - “Nah, I an’t...talked to ‘er yet.”

 

_I gesture over to Zlata, standing against the wall, having nothing to do with the others. Marcello hisses and I wonder if he tried to pull his charming shtick on her (with horrendous consequences)._

 

OZZIE - “She’s...something.”

 

KAMOGELO - “We understand if you don’t want to talk to her- she’s a scary lady. That’s Zlata Kolesnikov. A cellist from Russia.”

 

**RUSSIA - ZLATA KOLESNIKOV - ULTIMATE CELLIST**

 

_Zlata doesn’t look remotely in our direction as we all gaze at her from afar._

 

MARCELLO - “She sure is a scary woman but look at her.”

 

LEANDRO - “I would but she looks like she’d murder me with her eyes.”

 

MARCELLO - “A killer lady for sure! Hah...she’s wonderful~.”

 

_Kamogelo shoots me the most deadpan expression- I snort in amusement._

 

KAMOGELO - “We get it, Marcey, you’re very into your ladies. Now unless you want a dislocated jaw or a heel in the face, I suggest you stop staring.”

 

LEANDRO - “The guy’s drooling!”

 

MARCELLO - “Can’t help that- there are lots of lovely ladies here!”

 

RUPERT - “An’ I’m sure they want nowt to do wi’ you.”

 

_Marcello clucks his tongue at me as the others laugh. He seems like a right womaniser to me. I’d pay to watch him pull that shit on Konstanze._

 

KAMOGELO - “Oh, hey, Kim-Seong. Hey, this is Rupert.”

 

_I look side to side to see who he’s talking to, before suddenly seeing a face inches from mine. A pale, asian face with dark hair and a cheeky grin._

 

??? - “Rupert, Rupert- Annyeong! I’m Kim-Seong Kyu! I’m the best breakdancer in Korea- and maybe the world~!”

 

**SOUTH KOREA - KIM-SEONG KYU - ULTIMATE BREAKDANCER**

 

RUPERT - “Korea, eh? Which part…?”

 

KIM-SEONG - “Oh, the south! What about you- you’ve got a silly accent for a Brit.”

 

_Charming._

 

RUPERT - “Um...somewhere in Yorkshire.”

 

KIM-SEONG - “Yorkshire...Where is that?”

 

_Where’s Kenny at…?_

 

RUPERT - “Huh? I dunno…”

 

_My mind is elsewhere and I begin to hear Kim-Seong teasing Marcello and as I glance at the door, the doors open to reveal Kenny, but he’s not dragging anybody behind him. In fact- he’s following them- a young, middle-eastern girl who strides into the room, but her scowling expression tells me she’s most likely running away from him._

 

KENNY - “I found her! That’s all of us. Why don’t you introduce yourself?”

 

_The girl pointedly ignores him, but does so._

 

??? - “Sorry for keeping you waiting. My name is Ola Ahmadi. I’m a paramedic in Saudi Arabia. Does...anybody mind telling me where we are?”

 

**SAUDI ARABIA - OLA AHMADI - ULTIMATE PARAMEDIC**

 

KONSTANZE - “I’m afraid we don’t know, but now that we are all together in one place, the person who gathered us here will be making their appearance. We should have a small meeting between us now- before they arrive.”

 

_As Konstanze calls everybody to gather around and I watch Kamogelo and his group wander over, I’m suddenly shivering as I see Zlata looming over me. Her ice blue eyes slanted and her heels give such height over me I feel utterly dwarfed by her._

 

ZLATA - “Zlata Kolesnikov. приятно познакомиться.”   _(*Nice to meet you*)_

 

_With that, she strides over to the group, leaving me slightly winded with just words. Guess I should head over there too…_

 

_She really is a scary lady._

 

KENNY - “So...anybody know why we’re here?”

 

_Kenny’s question is met with many shrugs and noises of confusion._

 

KAMOGELO - “We weren’t able to find a way out either. It’s all locked up.”

 

CLAUDE - “There are no windows anywhere. It’s strange.”

 

KONSTANZE - “We were unable to break the door down either- and that’s not the strangest part.”

 

OZZIE - “You’re...talking about our memories aren’t you?”

 

_Of course. I’d almost forgotten. I can’t recall anything prior to waking up here._

 

IDABELLA - “It’s strange- my memories seem fine up until a certain point…”

 

KAMOGELO - “Yeah, man, I can remember my years in South Africa just fine, but… all my recent memories are gone.”

 

LEANDRO - “So not only do we not know why we’re here- we don’t know how we got to be here either…”

 

JINGYI - “We are...kidnapped!”

 

IDABELLA - “The possibility of kidnapping seems unlikely, Jingyi. Especially with so many of us here…”

 

KENNY - “But since we seem to be missin’ our memories- the answer could be anything…”

 

SUZUHANA - “And the person who gathered us here is soon to arrive.”

 

??? - “I sure as hell am~!”

 

_A shrill, comical voice rings through the hall and as our attention is finally drawn to the podium at the far end of the hall, something suddenly leaps up from behind it, before perching on it._

 

_It’s…_

 

RUPERT - “A bear…?”

 

KENNY - “That...that’s a bear, isn’t it?”

 

KONSTANZE - “This is a horrible joke. Whoever’s behind it should stop immediately.”

 

JINGYI - “Bear! Bear! 熊!”

 

??? - “My, my, what a rude buncha children! I’d punish you all now if I could- but this is no joke I can tell you! Allow me to introduce myself! My name is Monokuma!”

 

LEANDRO - “Mono-what now?”

 

SUZUHANA - “Kuma, to mean ‘bear’. Quite literally, Monobear.”

 

MONOKUMA - “Hey- that’s Monokuma to you! Can’t stand those English localisations…”

 

KAMOGELO - “What...are you talking about? Why a bear? What the hell is going on?”

 

_The bear seems to stand to attention, clearing his throat._

 

MONOKUMA - “First and foremostly, my job here is to oversee your...meeting. To cut short, I’m in charge so you follow my rules or pay the price, and it’s a pretty heavy price I can tell you that now.”

 

CLAUDE - “Meeting…?”

 

MONOKUMA - “I’m gettin’ to it, Frenchy! Now, you’ve all probably noticed that you’re all _very different_ , right? Or for those of you who are empty in the head- you’re all from all around the world!”

 

ROSALIE - “I believe we have all noticed.”

 

MONOKUMA - “Good for you, Frenchy 2.0- now as for what you’re all doing here, that’s easy! It’s a little something I like to call, the ‘Game of Mutual Killing!’”

 

_There was a moment of silence, of dread, after those words left him, where we seemed to wonder if this was really happening. As if waking up in a conference room with no way out wasn’t strange enough, but the appearance of the monochrome bear was something else._

 

_It’s a while until somebody speaks up- dreading what the answer could be._

 

RUPERT - “Wha’s tha’ supposed to mean? Game of...Mutual Killin’?”

 

_Killing…? As in…?_

 

MONOKUMA - “Gyahaha~ You’re a real country bumpkin, aren’tcha? Lemme break it down for the farm boy. Mutual- to mean _an experience or feeling shared by two or more people_ and I know I don’t gotta explain the killing part, so what does that make?”

 

_Killing. Death._

 

RUPERT - “You...want us to kill each other.”

 

_There’s a sickening moment of silence after my words that leaves a bad taste in everybody’s mouth- guess you could call that a mutual feeling too. Monokuma merely laughs._

 

MONOKUMA - “Finally! Not the sharpest tool in the shed, are ya? It’s just as he said- the aim of this game is to kill each other!”

 

KENNY - “T-That’s not happening! No way!”

 

KONSTANZE - “Such a thing will not be allowed! Under any circumstances!”

 

JINGYI - “Are we going to be dead soon….? W-Waaah!!”

 

MONOKUMA - “Oh, pipe down you lot! It’s a little more complicated than that! Your actions do have consequences, after all! But it might be helpful to note that _you cannot leave any other way! To escape this game, you must successfully kill somebody without getting caught!”_

 

KIM-SEONG - “W-We can’t leave?!”

 

KAMOGELO - “This better be a joke…”

 

MONOKUMA - “Oh you can trust me, this is no joke! I take this very seriously I’ll have you know!”

 

MARCELLO - “But...w-what if nobody kills anybody? What happens to us?”

 

MONOKUMA - “Oh, that’s all been sorted for you! I’ve told you what warrants your escape- now all you have to do is _do it_!”

 

_He gives another laugh and the others are deathly silent._

 

MONOKUMA - “Well that’s all for now, kids! Probably a good time to mention the _door at the end of the hall_ is now open and aaaall will become clear! And since I’m feeling so generous- there’s a few I’d like to you meet over there too! Upupupu~ Byeonara!”

 

_With that, he falls back off the podium and the lack of any kind of impact is worrying. Immediately, Kenny and Konstanze bolt from their positions to inspect the podium. The rest of us watch them nervously, until…_

 

KENNY - “He’s...gone. Like, disappeared!”

 

KONSTANZE - “It could possibly be a trap door, but...I’m unable to see anything of the sort.”

 

KAMOGELO - “He said the door was open- that could be our one way out.”

 

SUZUHANA - “It could be a trap.”

 

LEANDRO - “We don’t have a choice. We can’t live here, like this.”

 

MARCELLO - “I don’t know, w-we have our separate rooms, right?”

 

ZLATA - “Заткнись”  ( _*Shut up*)_

 

RUPERT - “It could be a trap anol...but s’not like we can get out any other way. We either die ‘ere or die through there.”

 

_They remain oddly quiet for a moment, torn between staying here or risking going through the door._

 

KENNY - “Rupert’s right- we should go for it. Besides, it might not be a trap.”

 

OZZIE - “And...that bear might come back again.”

 

KONSTANZE - “If it puts you at rest, I will enter first.”

 

_Now impatient with the pointless discussion, with only one inevitable conclusion, Konstanze strides with purpose out of the room and down the corridor as the rest of us watch her walk. Kenny soon follows suit, his pace quickened with nerves. One by one, we begin to follow Konstanze down the hallway and to the door that had been previously locked._

 

JINGYI - “Don’t die, Konnie!”

 

KONSTANZE - “I will be fine, Jingyi.”

 

_With bated breaths, we all watched as Konstanze reaches for the lever, twists and pushes the door open._

 

_…_

 

_Nothing explodes. Nobody is dead. Konstanze is fine as she enters the next room._

 

_There’s a moment of hesitation, before the rest of us follow suit, to see one of the strangest looking arrangements any of us have ever seen.._

 

_The centre of the room, on the floor, is a logo reminiscent of Monokuma’s head- there are four corridors that branch off, making an ‘X’ shape with the logo in the middle. We all gather into the middle, looking up at possibly the only window in this entire place- dome shaped, revealing the grey sky above._

 

_Just goes to show how grey our situation really is. Hah, I say grey…_

 

_...it’s more like black._

 

KONSTANZE - “Perhaps splitting into groups to explore is an acceptable idea.”

 

KENNY - “Sounds neat! We can all get to know each other!”

 

SUZUHANA - “This isn’t a holiday camp. Some of us genuinely want to leave this place.”

 

KENNY - “Hey, I wanna leave here just as bad as you- I’m just tryna make the best of the situation!”

 

_Suzuhana scoffs and the rest of us are now fully attentive to this exchange._

 

SUZUHANA - “The best? Of course, people like you can make the best of a situation like a killing game.”

 

KENNY - “What...do you mean by people like me?”

 

_His tone has lowered, but he doesn’t sound so much threatening as disappointed._

 

SUZUHANA - “Illogical, mindless optimism that you Americans seem so fond of.”

 

_Kenny’s eye seems to twitch and it’s now clear to everybody Suzuhana is not at all fond of Kenny. Kenny doesn’t react violently, or defensively, however. Instead, he just smiles._

 

KENNY - “Well I’m happy to have that mindset. Makes me happier.”

 

_Suzuhana glares, but say nothing, as Konstanze steps in._

 

KONSTANZE - “I will not tolerate bickering at such a time. Now- Kamogelo, Marcello, Leandro and Kim-Seong- investigate the northwest corridor. Rosalie, Claude, Zlata and Lotika, you investigate the northeast corridor. Kenneth, Rupert, Oswald and Ola, you go to the southeast corridor and Suzuhana, Jingyi, Idabella and I will go to the southwest. Any objections?”

 

_Konstanze suddenly taking charge leaves us in silence- we all glance at one another and nod, with no objections. I watch as Kamogelo’s group leaves- Ozzie nervously sidles up to me while Kenny is busy convincing Ola to come with us._

 

OZZIE - “Do...you think we’re going to die?”

 

_He’s visibly nervous, pushing his pointer fingers together and staring down at the floor. I shrug._

 

RUPERT _-_ “Wi’ Konstanze an’ Kenny on our side, I think we’ll be standard. It’s jus’ a matter of gettin’ out of ‘ere.”

 

OZZIE - “Y-You think we’ll be okay?”

 

_We look over, only to see Ola stride past, Kenny following after her once again- a strange sight._

 

RUPERT - “I...think we’ll be fine.”

 

_The two of us follow Kenny and Ola down the southeast corridor, where the natural light suddenly becomes dim, replaced with the pale white, flickering lights from the fluorescent bulbs above. The corridor stretches down further, yet all we can see are…_

 

KENNY - “Doors?”

 

_Rows of doors- eight on each side and sixteen in total with some of the most curious nameplates I’ve ever seen…_

 

KENNY - “Hey, look, Rupert, it’s you!”

 

_I look over to where Kenny is pointing, dragging my eyes away from what appears to be Leandro’s door and sure enough, a small, cartoon-like image of me is plastered on the door with the name ‘RUPERT WENTWORTH’ underneath._

 

OLA - “Mine’s here too- hey, they even added my pin! Neat!”

 

OZZIE - “I...like your first aid pin- the one on your hijab.”

 

_Ola laughs, and I realise I haven’t seen her speak much for the most part, as she’s silent around Kenny. It...seems like she doesn’t like him much._

 

OLA - “Oh, yeah, I’m all co-ordinated! That way people will always know I’m a paramedic!”

 

KENNY - “Check it, Ola, our rooms are next to each other!”

 

_Ola seems to pout, shrugging as she turns back to her own room and testing the handle. Kenny deflates slightly in a defeated manner as Ola enters her room. Ozzie offers a silent, consoling pat on the back as we peer into Ola’s room._

 

_It’s small, with a bed and a desk. A lamp stands in the far corner and a door in the corner suggests there’s a bathroom in here as well. Ola looks around the room, before falling back on the bed._

 

OLA - “It’s comfy. Better than sleeping on the floor!”

 

KENNY - “So...we each have a bedroom? We’re expected to stay here until one of us…”

 

_A deathly silence passes over the room, until Ola sits up, shakes her head and clenches her fists._

 

OLA - “That won’t happen. And if something does happen, I will be around to help.”

 

OZZIE - “O-Of course, we have the Ultimate Paramedic on our side!”

 

KENNY - “Ahahah! Of course, I shouldn’t have doubted you, Ola! We’ll be just fine!”

 

_Ola flushes, before standing up and hurriedly shooing us (Kenny) out of the room, taking the keys from the desk and then locking the door._

 

OLA - “We should return to the others and tell them about the bedrooms. The idea of staying here is...terrifying, but it really is better than sleeping on the floor.”

 

OZZIE - “I wonder what the others found…”

 

_We step into the ray of natural light streaming from the dome window in the centre of the building, where another group is waiting._

 

LOTIKA - “Look! They have returned!”

 

CLAUDE - “What did you all find?”

 

KENNY - “Bedrooms. One for each of us- they even have our names on them too!”

 

ROSALIE - “Chambres?”

 

OLA - “They are expecting us to live here until a death occurs- but I won’t let that happen!”

 

LOTIKA - “Well, now the washing rooms make sense!”

 

_She claps her hands together with a smile, as our group watch her with curiosity. Washing rooms?_

 

ZLATA - “прачечная”   _(*Laundry*)_

 

CLAUDE - “We found a kind of...bath-house? It’s on one side of the corridor- split into girls and boys and- like Zlata says...laundry rooms.”

 

KENNY - “They’re...expecting us to do laundry? Laundry rooms and a bath-house...”

 

OLA - “They want us to really live here! And look after ourselves!”

 

LOTIKA - “I think it’s nice they gave us washing rooms! Yes!”

 

_We’re clearly divided on this matter. Lotika seems rather unperturbed- almost happy to be here. Kenny and Ola clearly want to leave this place alive, washrooms or not. Rosalie is saying something to Claude in French._

 

KENNY - “We can’t stay here! We have families back home- they’re probably going to know we’re missing!”

 

OZZIE - “So...if they find we’re missing, they’ll call the police right? So we won’t have to kill anybody.”

 

CLAUDE - “That is...assuming we all have family to rely on.”

 

_Claude says this softly, sadly and I’m inclined to believe he has no family, until he eyes Lotika, who is cheerfully inspecting the centre room, oblivious to the conversation. It’s now very clear he’s referring to her in regards to having no family. Kenny looks down, sheepishly._

 

RUPERT - “She seems ‘appy to live ‘ere…”

 

OLA - “It’s not as if we know what each others lives are like...maybe some of us really would have better lives living here.”

 

KENNY - “Yeah, but we’re still being put in a position to kill each other. Besides, what’s stopping us from helping the people who don’t have anybody left when we get out?”

 

OZZIE - “I think...he has a point.”

 

_Ola eyes Kenny, clearly unimpressed, but shrugs._

 

OLA - “This is a conversation better saved for when the others arrive. Did you find anything else?”

 

ROSALIE - “Nous avons trouvés une infirmerie.”   _(*We found an infirmary*)_

 

CLAUDE - “An infirmary, next to the laundry rooms and at the very end of the corridor, it leads out into a kind of...cafeteria?”

 

KENNY - “A...cafeteria? Are there kitchens as well?”

 

LOTIKA - “There was so much food in there! Lots of fruit!”

 

CLAUDE - “Whilst we were in there, Mono...kuma was it? Monokuma just appeared out of nowhere and explained to us that the food is restocked on a weekly basis.”

 

KENNY - “A weekly basis?! How long are they expecting us to live here?!”

 

RUPERT - “Until one o’ us gets away wi’ murder.”

 

_The group falls silent, and we can hear Kamogelo’s group approaching._

 

RUPERT - “N-No’ that I would murder some’un.”

 

KAMOGELO - “Oy, what did you all find?”

 

KENNY - “Our group found a bunch of bedrooms- all labelled for each of us, down that way. Claude’s group found laundry rooms, an infirmary and a cafeteria.”

 

LEANDRO - “You serious? Like...we’re living here now?”

 

KIM-SEONG - “Huh...we found a video room. It’s got computers and stuff in it!”

 

MARCELLO - “There was a library down there too- bigger than you’d think. It’s got some classic romance novels- I’d say they did quite well there…”

 

_Zlata shifts over to stand threateningly over Marcello and he shuts up._

 

KAMOGELO - “There’s...what looks like a game room. Got all kinds of junk in there like video games and table tennis- but the weirdest thing is the very end of the corridor- they’ve got a pool. An actual swimming pool.”

 

KENNY - “This place seems so tiny- how’d they fit a swimming pool? And...why?”

 

OZZIE - “So...that corridor has all the recreational activities, I guess.”

 

_Lotika counts on her fingers as she speaks._

 

LOTIKA - “A corridor for bedrooms...a corridor for washing and eating...a corridor for fun things…”

 

LEANDRO - “I wonder what Konnie’s group have found down there.”

 

_As Leandro says this, Jingyi comes barrelling down the corridor, almost bumping into Kenny._

 

JINGYI - “BEAR DOOR!”

 

_Huh…? Bear door? Is this something to do with Mono-whatever?_

 

KENNY - “Easy there...are you talkin’ about Monokuma?”

 

SUZUHANA - “She means it quite literally. There is a door in that corridor with the strange bears face on it.”

 

KAMOGELO - “A door? Was it locked?”

 

JINGYI - “Locked shut!”

 

_We watch as Idabella and Konstanze return, minutes later._

 

KONSTANZE - “There was, indeed, a door with the bear’s face on it, but we were unable to open it. Aside from that, there was a very, very large door at the end- almost like a door to a vault, but that too was locked.”

 

IDABELLA - “We think that might be the way out.”

 

KONSTANZE - “Did the rest of you find anything similar?”

 

CLAUDE - “No, we found...we found a cafeteria and some laundry rooms.”

 

LOTIKA - “And an infirmary~!”

 

KONSTANZE - “An...infirmary?”

 

KENNY - “We found bedrooms- one for each of us.”

 

KAMOGELO - “And we found a bunch of recreation rooms. They’re...really trying to keep us alive just so we can kill each other.”

 

IDABELLA - “We’re going to have to live here…? Who is even behind such a thing?”

 

ZLATA - “зло.”    _(*Evil*)_

 

KONSTANZE - “And not only that...these screens that I see around.”

 

_Konstanze’s words prompt all of us to look around- I spy a chunky, yellow screen on the wall to my left. I hadn’t even noticed them at first- my mind’s been too preoccupied with…_

 

MARCELLO - “There are so many screens- one in each room.”

 

KONSTANZE - “And not only that, but the cameras are incredibly off-putting.”

 

_C...cameras? I abruptly look up to look for signs of cameras, but--_

 

KONSTANZE - “Many of you may not have noticed them- they are not in plain sight. Hidden cameras designed to watch our every move.”

 

_We all look around, the silence becoming increasingly more ominous. I still...can’t see any cameras but I guess they can’t escape the watchful eye of the Ultimate Border Security._

 

OLA - “Somebody is watching us…? Creepy…”

 

LOTIKA - “Oh, we are always being watched! Perhaps it is for our own safety.”

 

KIM-SEONG - “They’re probably trying to see who will kill who…”

 

MARCELLO - “But...if the aim is to kill somebody without being caught- then escaping is impossible if there are cameras everywhere!”

 

KONSTANZE - “I hope you weren’t planning to kill, Marcello- because cameras or not, I will know.”

 

_Konstanze’s dark, almost threatening tone, makes all of us- not just Marcello- shiver. As terrifying as she is...she is doing it for our safety._

 

_Maybe._

 

KENNY - “Well, what about what we were saying earlier? For those of us with family back home, they’ll notice we’ve gone missing and try to find us.”

 

KAMOGELO - “There’s a point. People will notice if we’ve just vanished off the face of the earth. Somebody’s bound to come and rescue us sooner or later.”

 

MARCELLO - “Y-Yes! We’ll be just fine!”

 

JINGYI - “Jingyi wants to go home!”

 

SUZUHANA - “You’re all very confident in that thought. But on the...off-chance nobody comes to our rescue. What are we to do?”

 

KENNY - “You sound physically incapable of believing in anything good.”

 

SUZUHANA - “I see nothing remotely pleasant about this situation. The fact we are being put in this situation at the hands of somebody truly evil does go to show perhaps there isn’t as much hope in the world as you might’ve thought.”

 

_Suzuhana’s dark words could be morbidly true, but her line of thinking is making people uneasy. She sighs, before turning to leave, letting her kimono flow out behind her._

 

SUZUHANA - “I’m going to retire to...my room, as you say.”

 

??? - “やめて!”    _(*Stop!*)_

 

??? - “Please wait a second!”

 

_The shrill, tinny voices fill the room and I remember back to when Monokuma said he had a few he’d like us to meet. Judging by the robotic voices...I wouldn’t be surprised if they were bears too._

 

_As I think that, a group of bears drop down from the ceiling, reminiscent of Monokuma, though where the black half would be- it’s replaced with a series of different colours. Almost like...flags?_

 

_What the fuck?_

 

_What the fuck are with these fucking bears everywhere?!_

 

??? - “Please wait a moment Kawase-san! Allow us to introduce ourselves to you!”

 

LEANDRO - “What the...fuck?”

 

MARCELLO - “M-More bears!?”

 

KONSTANZE - “Be quiet! You. Explain yourself.”

 

_The English speaking bear, which I can see is now coloured with the UK flag, shifts his feet around nervously. Behind him stands a few more bears- a German bear, a Japanese bear, a Chinese bear and a French bear. Is this a joke?_

 

??? - “I-I was trying! We are the Translator-kuma’s!”

 

_What...the hell?_

 

SUZUHANA - “Putting ‘kuma’ at the end of everything because you’re a bear is...incredibly distasteful.”

 

_The bear looks downcast._

 

OLA - “Translators? Like...to translate language?”

 

??? - “Indeed- that’s our job here! We are here at your convenience! Of course, we understand if you...don’t need us. English is a popular language after all.”

 

_I watch as what I assume to be the Chinese bear shoot a comment at the English bear, somewhat angrily, I assume he’s disagreeing. From behind me Jingyi claps._

 

JINGYI - “熊!”   _(*Bear!*)_

 

_Before any of us can question the bears, Jingyi is speaking to the Chinese bear in rapid Chinese- the bear responds fluently. We’re...all left to watch._

 

KENNY - “Hey, you’re a translator, aren’tcha? What’re they talking about?”

 

ENGLISH - “They’re talking about the language barrier set here. Since most of you are fluent in English, our presence may not necessarily be needed, but for those who struggle with the language barrier- like Miss Zhou or Miss Chagnon, that’s why we’re here!”

 

_The German bear begins to speak, only for Konstanze to tell it...well I assume she told it to ‘shut up’._

 

ENGLISH - “Our job is to make sure there are no verbal barriers between anybody! That way we can have a smooth game of killing with no misunderstandings!”

 

_The morbid words, said in such a chipper tone, send a chill through our spines as it becomes painfully clear. This...is a killing game. No matter how nice the facilities are here, or how accommodating this place is, or how convenient these strange, comical bears are, it doesn’t change a thing…_

 

_...this is still a killing game._

 

_And we are still all at risk._

 

SUZUHANA - “A translator is not necessary for me. I’d rather be left alone, if you please.”

 

_With that, Suzuhana departs in the direction of her room, but nobody goes to stop her. The Japanese bear looks down, dismayed._

 

IDABELLA - “I am in no need of a translator either.”

 

KONSTANZE - “As am I.”

 

_Konstanze is glaring at the German bear._

 

KAMOGELO - “I wouldn’t trust those bears. I _am_ a linguist after all- you can all just use me as the go between if you’re having troubles.”

 

ROSALIE - “I am...more comfortable to use Kamogelo.”

 

_Zlata nods in affirmation- as much as we are rejecting these bears, Jingyi seems like she’s...getting along with her bear? We’re all glancing at one another, deciding it we should let this continue. We do have Kamogelo to help us, after all._

 

_But...at the same time, we’ve been pitted against each other. What if Kamogelo were to die?_

 

MONOKUMA  - “Honestly, how ungrateful are ya!?”

 

_Monokuma practically leaps into existence, the same way the Translator-kuma’s had. They all seem to cower behind him._

 

MONOKUMA - “I gave you the precious gift of these guys and you’re just gonna throw it back in my face! I see how it is!”

 

LEANDRO - “You must be crazy if we think we’re gonna trust anything you give us!”

 

KIM-SEONG - “What if they try to kill us?! We’ll die!”

 

_Smart, Kim-Seong._

 

MONOKUMA - “Nah, nah- that won’t happen. It’s _against the rules_ after all! Why, haven’t you even found your handbooks, yet?”

 

OLA - “Handbooks?”

 

_Monokuma throws up his paws in exasperation._

 

MONOKUMA - “Honestly you’re all terrible at this! First you throw my amazing gift back in my face and now- you haven’t even found your handbooks?! You’re probably all going to end up killing yourselves before you can kill each other!”

 

_Konstanze and Kenny look ready to fight, but they hold their tongues as Monokuma continues._

 

MONOKUMA - “Here, lemme give you a taster of the rules. _I cannot physically do anything to harm you or interfere with your lives here!_ Got it? Any murder that happens here is all your doing!”

 

CLAUDE - “He...can’t harm us.”

 

MONOKUMA - “Yup! I’d count yourselves lucky I wasn’t playing this game cause one of you would be dead from the start! Of course, I follow the rules just like the rest of you and trust me, defying these rules can come with _serious consequences,_ so I suggest you go and find your handbooks in case you, uh... _meet an untimely fate~!_ Upupupupu~!”

 

_With a shrill giggle, Monokuma bows and promptly disappears, dragging the Translator-kuma’s away with him, save for the Chinese bear, who Jingyi is now clinging onto with a death grip._

 

IDABELLA - “J-Jingyi, maybe it would be easier to talk to Kamogelo- he can speak perfect Chinese!”

 

JINGYI - “Nope! Jingyi is keeping it!”

 

_The bear seems to sweat slightly under her grip as it’s comrades disappear alongside Monokuma. Clearly, of all the Translator-kuma’s, this is the one we’re going to see the most of._

 

KONSTANZE - “Let her keep it, she will be fine but any suspicious behaviour and it’s being dismantled, do you understand?”

 

_Whether or not the Chinese bear understood what Konstanze was saying was a mystery but he’d obviously taken that as a threat- and one that would be carried out. Jingyi seems determined to keep the bear with her._

 

KONSTANZE - “Very well. I believe returning to our rooms for now is the best course of action- we will be able to find these…’handbooks’ Monokuma is so fond of.”

 

KENNY - “What do we do after that? We don’t have a clue where to begin on gettin’ out of this.”

 

IDABELLA - “We can’t stay here forever, Konnie. We need to work to get out.”

 

KAMOGELO - “Idabella is right.”

 

_Konstanze thinks to herself for a moment as the others pitch in their agreements._

 

KONSTANZE - “Of course we cannot stay here, but for the moment we are tired. I believe holding a meeting in the cafeteria tomorrow morning would be the best way to start. Any objections?”

 

_There are no objections as Konstanze proposes the idea._

 

KONSTANZE - “Very well. For the time being, I believe it is best to remain in our rooms. Lock your doors during the nights, if possible.”

 

OLA - “Each room has a key- I’ve already got mine so we can lock them all.”

 

KAMOGELO - “Guess it’s goodnight, then! I’m exhausted from this…”

 

LEANDRO - “Yeah, I could go for a nap…”

 

JINGYI - “我们去吧!”   _(*Let’s go!*)_

 

_I watch as one by one, each person finds their room and leaves._

 

KENNY - “C’mon, Rupert! What you waitin’ for?”

 

RUPERT - “Huh? Oh. Yeah, awright…”

 

_I trudge behind Kenny, spotting my room to the right of his and Ola’s. On the other side, is Zlata’s room, but judging from her lack of appearance, she’s already retired for the night. Ozzie bids me a quiet good night and enters his room across the hall from mine._

 

_Guess I should check it out._

 

_I twist the handle, feeling a knot of dread in my stomach and when I open it, it’s exactly the same as Ola’s. I’m not sure what I was expecting. Maybe somebody to jump and tell me it’s all a dream or a prank. Or maybe I’m expecting a dead body- will somebody really give in to murder?_

 

_…_

 

_It’s not like I had much of a family back at home, but I’d rather be there than here. Hell, if Lotika really has no family and nowhere to go, she could come with me._

 

_I kick my shoes off and settle down on the bed. Ola was right, it really is comfy, but somehow that physical feeling of comfort masks the emotional feeling of dread. It’s more of a temporary solution than anything else._

 

_I spy the keys on the bedside dresser, next to a small, black rectangle. Could that be the handbook Monokuma was talking about?_

 

_I flick the switch and it springs to life, displaying the name ‘RUPERT WENTWORTH’ before fading to a home-screen. Let’s see…_

 

_Rules. That’s a start._

 

_There’s a tacky little image of a smiling Monokuma, waving next to the list of rules._

 

 **RULE 1** \- Nighttime hours are from 10PM to 8AM- certain areas of the facility will be locked during those times, including the **cafeteria** , the **swimming pool** and the **conference rooms**.

 

 **RULE 2** \- Any violence towards Monokuma will be met with a severe punishment. You have been warned.

 

 **RULE 3** \- Following a murder, will be a trial, which is **mandatory** for every participant. Failure to comply will result in punishment.

 

 **RULE 4 -** If a participant is found **guilty** of murder, they will be subsequently **executed.** Following that, if the participant voted **guilty** is revealed to be innocent, then all participants will be **executed** , whilst the true culprit will be set free.

 

 **RULE 5** \- Vandalising the facility and its property is a punishable offense.

 

 **RULE 6** \- Do not break or lose your handbook.

 

 **RULE 7** \- A **Body Discovery Announcement** will play after **two or more** people have discovered a body, alerting all participants that a trial will commence.

 

 **RULE 8** \- Any participant found breaking these rules will be severely punished.

 

 **RULE 9** \- Monokuma is not allowed to directly interfere with the game other than to present motives, nor are the Translators.

 

 **RULE 10** **-** Have fun!

  


_Have fun. Is...this serious?_

 

_…_

 

_Of course it’s serious. This entire situation is real and I’ve been trying to convince myself otherwise the whole time. All of these rules seem somewhat strict and I’m curious what these ‘punishments’ are._

 

_But knowing Monokuma, chances are I don’t want to experience them for myself._

 

_I lie back on the bed, gingerly placing the handbook down next to the keys. What the hell are we supposed to do about this? How could people like us be allowed to get into a situation like this to begin with?_

 

_I’m not sure if anybody has questioned the fact all of us have talents. We’re all Ultimates, and from all over the globe too. Does that mean it’s some kind of conspiracy on a global level…?_

 

_If it’s on a global level, who knows what people really think of each other. Thinking back, I was naturally prejudiced towards Kenny because he’s...well, American. Now I just think he’s annoying because it’s who he is and not where he comes from but who’s to say somebody else doesn’t feel the same?_

 

_Suzuhana doesn’t seem to like Kenny much either- there could be conflict brewing from that. I guess...this could give us more reason to attack each other. As nice as the others seem, there’s no way to really tell what their true intentions are…_

 

_...or if they’re planning to commit murder._

 

_It’s a hopeless, despairing situation we’ve been put into by the paws of a fucking talking bear._

 

_For a moment, I find myself once again on the edge of consciousness- do I fall this way or that way? If I stay awake, maybe I can prolong this little dream but if I go to sleep, I’ll wake up accepting what’s happening. I’ll have to accept it._

 

_That somebody might try to kill me._

 

_Somehow, I manage to drift to sleep with that thought fresh in my mind._

 

_That I could die at any time._

  
  
  


**PROLOGUE FINISH**

  
  


**SURVIVORS - 16**

 


	2. CHAPTER 1-1: NOW COMMENCING THE WORLD MEETING OF DESPAIR

_ There’s a nice sense of ease, when one wakes up- a neutral feeling. Being content and at the time it feels so amazingly normal, until all your memories, problems and anxieties come flooding back to eat away at your mind until you can finally force yourself into another dreamless sleep. _

 

_ Those moments in a time like this are the only moments of solace we really have. _

  
  


??? \- “Hey. Hey! Rupert, wake up!”

 

_...hah…? _

 

??? \- “Are all Brits this lazy? Hey, I know you can hear me!”

 

_ Wish I couldn’t.  _

 

_ That moment, my one feeling of peace, is shattered by the appearance of an unruly and, in my opinion, overbearingly obnoxious American sat next to me, gripping my shoulders with his huge ham hands. Fucks sake… _

 

RUPERT \- “I’ll gittup when Konnie drags me from th’ bed wi’ her bare hands. Na’ piss off.”

 

KENNY \- “Yeah well, funny story there, that was her intention, but she’s already tryna singlehandedly drag Marcey, Loti and Kim-Seong from their rooms so she sent me to get you. Sorry you ain’t bein’ woken up by a gorgeous, butch German woman- you’re gonna have to settle for me!”

 

RUPERT \- “Fucken’ joy. Awright, m’up.”

 

_ I forcibly push myself from the warmth of the bed, batting Kenny’s hands away and glaring at him. Being woken up by Konstanze yelling German in my ear and picking me up will always be the better option that being woken up by him. _

 

KENNY \- “The girls and Kamogelo made breakfast for us- you might wanna jump in there quick before it all goes. Jingyi eats like a fucking horse.”

 

_ I rise from the bed, snatch the keys that I’d completely forgotten about from the bedside along with the tablet. _

 

RUPERT \- “S’mehow m’not even remotely surprised. Look’s as if she kicks like one anol…”

 

KENNY \- “You’d be right about that…”

 

_ We exit my bedroom, Kenny rubs his shin sheepishly, now bruised from Jingyi’s signature kick from yesterday, and head down the concourse in the direction of the cafeteria. I hadn’t had the chance to come here yesterday so I’m curious to see what it looks like. _

 

KENNY \- “Can’t believe you slept through the morning announcement too- Christ, Jingyi’s still eating. C’mon kiddo, that must be your fifth bowl!”

 

_ Jingyi doesn’t look up from her bowl of- what I assume is soup. _

 

JINGYI \- “Bowl six.  六 .”    _ (*Six*) _

 

IDABELLA \- “Don’t make yourself sick, Jingyi!”

 

SUZUHANA \- “You are far too excited…”

 

_ Looking around, there are several empty seats. Aside from Konstanze, Marcello, Kim-Seong and Lotika, who are getting here soon and Kamogelo and Rosalie, who I assume are still in the kitchen, the only ones missing are Zlata and Ola. _

 

_ Kenny and I take a seat next to Ozzie and Jingyi. _

 

RUPERT \- “Anya seen Ola or Zlata ‘round?”

 

OZZIE \- “I think Ola’s in the infirmary. Uh... _ getting acquainted _ with the tools there. As for Zlata, I don’t know…”

 

IDABELLA \- “Hopefully she won’t have to use any of her medical techniques on us.”

 

_ Idabella chuckles nervously as Suzuhana raises a dark eyebrow. _

 

SUZUHANA \- “Well there’s only so much a paramedic can do, you know. Don’t expect her to be saving anybody’s lives.”

 

_ Suzuhana’s harsh comment sends silence over the table. Jingyi is too occupied with eating to pay any attention and a few others have crept off to the kitchen already. I can see Kenny twitch from the corner of my eye. _

 

KENNY \- “Well...that’s her job isn’t it? She’s got more medical experience than any of us!”

 

_ His voice is shakey… _

 

SUZUHANA \- “Yes but need I remind you the job of a paramedic is keeping people alive until they reach a hospital. Ola isn’t a real doctor- her job is to perform first aid and treatment that can extend a patient’s life.”

 

_ She takes a sip of her tea. _

 

SUZUHANA \- “You’re overselling her far too much.”

 

_ Kenny doesn’t look happy in the slightest- his face is unnaturally neutral but I can fucking feel the fury radiating from him.  _

 

KENNY \- “I give credit where I think credit is due. And nothing is stopping Ola from taking her medical experience further. You’ve seen the library- there’s tons of books she could read there that could give her all the knowledge she needs.”

 

_ A...surprisingly coherent argument. Suzuhana quirks a brow. _

 

SUZUHANA \- “And there’s a way she could officially, legally, become a doctor here, is there? Ola’s talent lies in temporary treatment- she’s the Ultimate Paramedic not the Ultimate Could-Be Doctor.”

 

KENNY \- “No. She could be the Ultimate Doctor. You’re the Ultimate Koto Player but there’s nothing stopping you from broadening your horizons.”

 

SUZUHANA \- “You’re too optimistic for your own good.”

 

_ Kenny stops for a moment, crossing his arms. _

 

KENNY \- “It’s the way I choose to live.”

 

OZZIE \- “I...think you’re both right. The two opinions don’t have to be mutually exclusive, y’know…”

 

IDABELLA \- “It’s a furious fight between optimism and pessimism…”

 

_ Suzuhana remains silent, now more occupied with her tea and outright refusing to answer to Kenny. Kenny doesn’t seem to care, which is okay because Konstanze has just returned with the sleepy trio behind her. _

 

LOTIKA \- “Good Morning, everybody! Rise and shine!”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “Wow, I really overslept! Phew!”

 

MARCELLO \- “Ciao, you lovely ladies~! Hey, hey, Suzuhana, why do you look so down? Don’t scowl so much- you’ve got a lovely face!”

 

SUZUHANA \- “I sympathise with your family.”

 

MARCELLO \- “E-Eh?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Is everybody here? I believe now is the prime time for a meeting to be held!”

 

LOTIKA \- “I have not eaten yet!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “I’m sure there are leftovers in the refrigerator after we’re done. This is urgent.”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “Hah...I could go for a banana right now!”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Go wild after the meeting, monkey boy.”

 

_ Kamogelo comes out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel, and Rosalie and Claude follow seconds later.  _

 

KAMOGELO \- “Are we starting this thing?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “When Ola returns, we shall.”

 

OLA \- “I’m already here.”

 

_ I crane my neck to see Ola had slipped in. Her expression is oddly steely, masked by a cool aura as she raises a hand in indication. How long has she been here? _

 

KONSTANZE \- “Well if we’re all here...we can begin.”

 

LEANDRO \- “Where are we supposed to begin? There is no way to escape from this place.”

 

IDABELLA \- “Leandro is right, we’ve already looked! With no windows and the only potential way out being that massive vault door, we don’t have any other choices.”

 

OLA \- “I took one quick look around the place just in case- there’s no other way out.”

 

JINGYI \- “We are trapped!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “We are indeed, but we mustn’t give up in the slightest. We merely need to alter our way of thinking. Instead of thinking about  _ how are we going to get out, _ we must think about  _ how are we going to survive in here _ .

 

CLAUDE \- “Survive, sounds a bit grim. I mean...we already have everything we need here.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “I mean we must secure our safety.”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “We have to keep ourselves safe from each other?”

 

LEANDRO \- “That’s how it’s sounding.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Do not mistake my apprehension for total mistrust. I merely want to keep all of us safe and away from harm.”

 

SUZUHANA \- “That still seems like mistrust. We can work together all we like, but how much does it mean when we’re still at arms length from each other.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “I can assure you I’m not at arm’s length with anybody.”

 

OZZIE \- “The two really aren’t mutually exclusive….”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Talking about trust and mistrust isn’t helping anybody. Konnie, you sound like you’ve got something in mind?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “I do indeed. The first proposition I have, is a special nighttime rule.”

 

ROSALIE \- “A nighttime rule?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “I trust you’ve all read your handbooks- it states nighttime hours are from 10PM to 8AM. I propose that during those hours, we remain in our rooms. It’s dangerous and unsettling to have people wandering around during that time.”

 

IDABELLA \- “That sounds reasonable. I mean, there’s not much to do at nighttime- plus the cafeteria and the swimming pool are all locked during that time too, right?”

 

SUZUHANA \- “And how are you going to uphold this rule? Lock us in our rooms?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “I trust you’re all smart enough to lock your own doors- you know how a key works, no?”

 

SUZUHANA \- “So once again, it’s about blindly putting faith in people we do not know.”

 

KENNY \- “It’s better than nothing- even if not all of us adhere to it, most of us will.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Kenneth is correct. Besides, I’m under the assumption you value your lives that much that you’ll be able to keep yourself safe during that time. At least that way you’ll know if somebody is wandering around outside, you’d be better off in your rooms.”

 

KAMOGELO \- “It’s not iron solid but it’s a good idea. I’m all up for it.”

 

LEANDRO \- “Yeah, man, it’s a good start.”

 

JINGYI \- “Jingyi’s bedtime is 10PM too!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Night-time is by far the most dangerous hours. And as a further extension, I may be able to lock all of the facilities during the night, making them all inaccessible.”

 

OLA \- “I’ll only agree to that if you’ll let me have 24 hour access to the infirmary.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “That sounds reasonable.”

 

MARCELLO \- “How are you going to lock them? I couldn’t see any locks on the doors.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “I have my ways. Or if locking the doors is not an option, setting up necessary precautions will be.”

 

ROSALIE \- “To prevent us from entering…?”

 

KENNY \- “Or to catch us when we do.”

 

LEANDRO \- “Okay, but hold on a second. Talking about the locks for a second- the tablet says the swimming pool and cafeteria lock automatically at night but...I still haven’t seen any locks.”

 

??? \- “Guess it’s time to make my entrance~!”

 

_ Christ, I know exactly who this is but no matter how comedic he looks, I still get a horrific sense of dread from him. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “Monokuma here to answer your questions!”

 

JINGYI \- “Where’s bear!?”

 

_ Monokuma tilts his head, confused by Jingyi’s outburst. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “Eh? Right here!”

 

JINGYI \- “No! Bear! My bear!”

 

_ Ah, she’s talking about the Chinese Translator-kuma...god that sounds like such a mash-up of words. Guess Suzuhana was right when she called it ‘distasteful’. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “Ugh, China needs his downtime, kiddo. Anyway, back to the topic of locks. The reason you can’t see the locks, are because they’re all automatic locks! They’re magnetic, set to lock whenever I desire.”

 

IDABELLA \- “Magnetic locks? Remotely controlled, I assume.”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Yup! Well, actually the locks for the cafeteria, swimming pool and conference rooms are set on a timer- they automatically lock when the clock hits 10PM, so...if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, you might find yourself locked up for the night! Gyahahaha~!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Well in that case, it’s even more vital you are in your rooms when the nighttime announcement sounds.”

 

CLAUDE \- “This means it’s impossible to lock the other doors but...precautions may yet be a good idea.”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Anyway, I--”

 

KONSTANZE \- “The biggest problem is knowing where people are at any time. Not only is it difficult to keep track of everybody at one time, breaching people’s privacy is not the answer to our problems.”

 

MONOKUMA \- “I--”

 

SUZUHANA \- “So again, it’s down to trust. Just how much security could you really bring us?”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Well--”

 

KENNY \- “At least, she’s trying! She wants to make sure we all get out of this alive and if you’re going to be uncooperative, then you could be the one to bring us all down. Is that what you really want?”

 

SUZUHANA \- “Remember I am nothing like you. Don’t assume the rest of us are either. I aim to keep myself alive. We all do.”

 

KENNY \- “So you’ll really be fine with sacrificing us all to keep yourself alive?!”

 

_ Everybody watches as Kenny stands up, sending his chair backwards. Suzuhana’s expression darkens. _

 

SUZUHANA \- “Your talent has no place in a world like this. Peace is an illogical concept- no matter where you go or what you do, the world will remain the same. Putting yourself at risk for others is stupid and as much as your mindless optimism distracts us from the true despair of the situation, it’s just a facade. That’s just what the talent you hold is- it’s fake.”

 

OLA \- “Don’t you fucking dare--!!”

 

MONOKUMA \- “ENOUGH!!”

 

_ The tenseness of the situation is heightened tenfold as Ola’s outburst is silenced by Monokuma. He puts a paw to his snout as Kenny silently picks up his chair and sits back down. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “Gotta say, this is the fastest I’ve seen a group fall to bits. I’m likin’ your attitude, princess, but now it’s my turn to speak, because I’ve got something pretty important for you and I don’t take kindly to being interrupted!”

 

_ We remain silent, not-so-eager to hear the bears announcement. Kenny looks remarkably guilty for his outburst- he’d clearly been trying to keep his cool for the duration of the fight. Suzuhana looks annoyingly placid and Ola is trembling slightly. _

 

_ That’s funny. I thought Ola didn’t like Kenny. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “Now I don’t normally expect my participants to jump right into a bloodbath, but I have to say this is the closest I’ve seen it come to one. Nonetheless, whenever things get slow, I like to kickstart the game back up with a few motives!”

 

LEANDRO \- “Motives…? As in…?”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Motives meaning motives. Now, I’m just as eager as you to return to your little spat there, so I’ll make this one quick. Your very first, and maybe last, motive is a little special something~!”

 

_ That can’t be good. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “Upupupu~ You’d count yourselves lucky, this is my second act of generosity towards you bastards! Listen up! For this limited time only- the first murder will go without a trial!”

 

_ Huh? The tablet mentioned holding a trial after each murder, so...without a trial...does that mean the murderer will go free?! _

 

MONOKUMA \- “That’s right, you all heard me right! No trial for the first murder, meaning the very first killer will get off scot free! Of course, the rest of you will have to stay here and wish your friend good luck as they secure their place as the first winner of this game!”

 

_ The...first winner? What, there can be more than one winner? _

 

KONSTANZE \- “What? That’s inexcusable!”

 

CLAUDE \- “That’s possibly the biggest incentive to kill…”

 

IDABELLA \- “Without a trial there’s no risk of punishment. It’s purely a win-win situation.”

 

_ It does sound that way? I hear a few people back away from one another. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “Well, what happens next is up to you! I’ve said my peace so now it’s on you! See ya later~~!”

 

_ Monokuma strides off and promptly disappears- I hear Jingyi whine quietly about the Chinese bear but everybody else is stone silent. _

 

_ Minutes later, Suzuhana rises and leaves her seat. _

 

SUZUHANA \- “The world is an unfair place. I’ve already told you, hope and peace cannot thrive in a place like this. It’s just easier to accept that.”

 

KENNY \- “I’m not accepting that. Not now, not ever.”

 

LEANDRO \- “You guys…”

 

KENNY \- “Just because you can’t see the good in things doesn’t mean we’re the same. We’re trying to make the best of it.”

 

SUZUHANA \- “The best of a killing game...that really is ironic, don’t you think?”

 

KENNY \- “At least I can live my life knowing I’ve done something good for somebody else.”

 

_ A quiet yet oddly scathing comment from Kenny- Suzuhana’s eyes narrow as she scowls, before flouncing out of the room. _

 

MARCELLO \- “H-Hey, this isn’t cool...I’m gonna go and see if she’s okay.”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “Just ‘cause she’s pretty doesn’t mean she’s a good person, Marcey.”

 

_ Marcello frowns and flushes slightly, before striding purposely out of the room, until he suddenly bumps into somebody. Zlata stands over him, inspecting him with a quizzical expression that can only really look menacing. Marcello shivers, before dashing out of the room. _

 

LOTIKA \- “Whoops~! We forgot to wait for Zlata to join us!”

 

_ Whoops. A few others look sheepish to the fact they overlooked Zlata entirely. _

 

KONSTANZE \- “Zlata. We’ve implemented a rule which means you cannot leave your bedrooms during the nighttime hours.”

 

ZLATA \- “ ладно.”   _ (*Alright*) _

 

_ She shrugs indifferently as she heads to the kitchen to get her own food, I assume. I let out a breath, half expecting Zlata to grow angry at being excluded. Although, speaking of exclusion… _

 

_ The moment she is out of earshot, Konstanze mutters-- _

 

KONSTANZE \- “Do not tell her of the motive.”

 

CLAUDE \- “Do you think she’ll murder somebody?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “No. I just don’t see the reason in giving her the opportunity to fall for this incentive. I know it must seem like mistrust, but my intentions are honest. Of course…”

 

_ She begins to stride out of the room. _

 

KONSTANZE \- “Whether or not you choose to believe me is up to you.”

 

_ The room is silent- Konstanze’s departure signals the meeting is adjourned. One by the one, the others begin to leave and do their own thing until-- _

 

KENNY \- “Hey! You, me and Ozzie- how about we go and hang out in the game room? Sound good?”

 

_ Eyeing the room, Ola is stood by the door- Kamogelo is clearing up the rest of the plates with Jingyi at his heels as she continues to natter on in Chinese about what I assume is the bear she’s made fast friends with. _

 

RUPERT \- “Aye, sounds awright. Got nowt better to do anol…”

 

OZZIE \- “Let’s head off then…!”

 

_ In a group of three, we head towards the door, past Ola. Her expression is twisted into something more forlorn. _

 

_ Huh… _

 

RUPERT \- “Oy, go on without me for a moment. Got summat to do a sec…”

 

KENNY \- “Eh? Alright, then. C’mon Ozzie…”

 

OZZIE \- “See you in a bit.”

 

_ Kenny shoots me one final odd look, before departing for the game room. Now that Kamogelo and Jingyi are in the kitchen… _

 

RUPERT \- “You okay?”

 

_ Ola looks up at me, her expression unreadable. She crosses her arms. _

 

OLA \- “I don’t know. It’s probably the situation we’re in. It all seems a bit surreal, doesn’t it?”

 

_ I pause. That wasn’t quite what I meant and she knows it. I decide to rephrase. _

 

RUPERT \- “So what dya really think o’ Kenny?”

 

OLA \- “Hard to say.”

 

RUPERT \- “Whysat?”

 

_ She doesn’t flush, like she did the night before, nor does she grow angry. If anything, she looks exhausted. I can tell for a fact she wasn’t at all fond of Kenny the night before- whether that’s an opinion boiled down to prejudice like me or it’s just that she really does not like him at all is unknown. _

 

OLA \- “He doesn’t make sense to me. Why he’d feel the need to...defend me like that.”

 

_ Huh? Defend…? Oh, wait, as in-- _

 

RUPERT \- “Oh, shit, were ye there for tha’ spat ‘tween him an’ Suzuhana?”

 

OLA \- “I was...stood outside the door. I stood out there until they were done.”

 

_ She says this solemnly, as she would, I suppose. What the hell am I supposed to tell her? I mean, there’s no point taking what Suzuhana says to heart. _

 

RUPERT \- “Look, I think ‘e’s a fucken’ tit but ‘e meant what ‘e said. Suzuhana was bang out o’ order anol but you shouldn’t take what she says seriously.”

 

OLA \- “I know that. It’s just...it raises a lot of conflict. She’s...right, my job is to provide temporary care until they can be treated by whatever specialist is needed, but...I  _ am _ the only one here with medical experience. What good is temporary treatment going to do if somebody is seriously wounded?”

 

_ I pause for a moment, processing her answer. _

 

RUPERT \- “Awright, so if you stuck aroun’ for tha’ lil, uh….thing, then you remember what ‘e said about the books in the lib’ry? You can always learn. Sure, there ain’t anythin’ to, uh….officiate it but if you know, then you know.”

 

OLA \- “You think so?”

 

RUPERT \- “Well, yeah. I dunno, I ain’t the brightest here but you seem to know what’s up. Don’t hurt to learn new stuff.”

 

OLA \- “Yeah, I...think I might try that. Thank, Rupert.”

 

RUPERT \- “It’s awright, but...if y’don’t mind me askin’...what is y’deal with Kenny?”

 

_ Her brightened expression suddenly becomes slightly downcast. _

 

OLA \- “I’m...not sure, to put it simply. Maybe another time.”

 

RUPERT \- “S’fine by me but, uh...he don’t seem like the deceitful type to me. Wears ‘is ‘eart on ‘is sleeve like…”

 

_ She’s quiet, deep in thought, but eventually turns away in what I assume is the direction of the library. She briefly stops and turns back to me. _

 

OLA \- “You’re a strange one, Rupert. I mean...you don’t like Kenny either, do you?”

 

_ She got me there. _

 

RUPERT \- “Well if you chucked me in a room wi’ Kenny an’ Marcello I’d prolly use Kenny’s pin badge to shank Marcey…”

 

_ It’s not the most appropriate joke in the midst of a killing game, but Ola laughs heartily, and the colour has returned to her cheeks. _

 

OLA \- “Well if Marcello turns up dead with a pin badge in his throat I’ll know who to blame.”

 

RUPERT \- “Shit, shouldn’ta revealed my master plan.”

 

_ She laughs as she strides away, leaving me in the doorway of the cafeteria. I can hear Kamogelo and Jingyi finishing up with the washing. Guess I should catch up with Kenny and Ozzie. _

 

_ Ola didn’t seem to like Kenny at all the moment she got here and I don’t know if that’s changed or not, but...I think his words must’ve had some kind of impact on her. Makes me wonder what kind of girl Ola really is- especially since she began to defend him against Suzuhana’s argument. _

 

_ It also brings me to the realisation that Kenny’s stuck to me since yesterday. It’s not like I want him to piss off but… _

 

_ … _

 

_...ugh, maybe he ain’t that bad.  _

 

_ I mean I’d still shank Marcello given the chance.  _

 

_ I wander up to the corridor, following Ola and watching as she disappears into the library. The door opposite is marked ‘Game Room’. I twist the handle, now noting the lack of manual locks, and push the door open. _

 

KENNY \- “Wait, wait- I found them! The balls are in here!”

 

OZZIE \- “Oh, nice! I found some more paddles too- hey, Rupert. You okay?”

 

_ I give them both a thumbs up, watching as Ozzie continues to set up a table tennis net. Kenny trots over with a basket of table tennis balls and a big grin. _

 

KENNY \- “Dude you won’t believe how much stuff they have in these cupboards! They got wickets and bats for cricket, horseshoes and actual good-quality baseball bats!”

 

RUPERT \- “Aye, an’ dya see any space ‘round ‘ere to play baseball?”

 

_ Kenny slumps slightly, but doesn’t look defeated. _

 

KENNY \- “I dunno we could empty out the swimming pool, right? Did any of you ever play baseball at school?”

 

_ He plucks a baseball bat from one of the racks on the far corner and gives it a hearty swing. _

 

OZZIE \- “I tried not to get too involved in sports as a kid...what with my heart condition.”

 

KENNY \- “Woah, I didn’t know you have a heart condition! You okay?”

 

OZZIE \- “I’ll be fine. What about you, Rupert?”

 

_ Ozzie tosses me a table tennis paddle as Kenny continues to root through the game room with baseball bat in hands. _

 

RUPERT \- “Nah. Well, we played Rounders which were like….I guess the British equivalent. Had the diamond and the balls but like...the bat were shorter- you ‘ad to ‘old it one-handed.”

 

KENNY \- “You’re kidding? Baseball sounds way more hardcore I think.”

 

OZZIE \- “You Americans always struck me as the ‘hardcore type’, if you’ll, uh...forgive my stereotyping.”

 

_ Ozzie serves and we start a lazy rally. _

 

RUPERT \- “Eh? Man, ‘merican football is jus’ like rugby anol but they wear armor. We do it without.”

 

KENNY \- “Seriously? Don’t you get hurt doin’ that?”

 

RUPERT \- “Well...yeah. You ever watched a rugby match? They’s half-dead by the end o’ the match. Good fun.”

 

KENNY \- “As mildly terrifyin’ as that sounds, I think we can mutually agree Ozzie has to be the most hardcore. I mean, the insects you got over there in Australia, are like….”

 

_ Kenny shudders and Ozzie laughs lightly. _

 

RUPERT \- “Oh, aye, e’s got a point.”

 

OZZIE \- “It’s more...knowing how to handle them I think. Oh, and how to avoid them. There are just some animals you don’t tangle with.”

 

RUPERT \- “Yeah, them’s generally the animals that proves God ‘bandoned us long ago.”

 

_ Kenny lets out a roar of laughter and Ozzie misses the return, ducking down to catch the ball. _

 

KENNY \- “Jeez! Didn’t take you for the religious type, Rupert.”

 

RUPERT \- “Trust me, I’m no’...”

 

OZZIE \- “I used to get dragged to church by my gran on a Sunday, but that’s as religious as I can get.”

 

RUPERT \- “Oh, aye. Wha’ about you? Your entire image strikes me as a ‘good Christian boy’.”

 

KENNY \- “Funny that, considering I’m Jewish.”

 

_ Ozzie lets out a sudden peel of laughter, dropping the ball again and Kenny chuckles, striding over and putting an arm around my shoulder, shaking me lightly. _

 

RUPERT \- “Well shit, uh...ye strike me as a ‘good Jewish boy’.”

 

KENNY \- “Oh, why thank you, I try. Nah, nah, I’m not an overly devout religious person but I’m still Jewish. S’more like I don’t practice it.”

 

RUPERT \- “Fair that. Got all kinds here, it seems.”

 

OZZIE \- “Yeah...I mean, Lotika is a Hindu, right? Ola is a Muslim, I assume and somebody here is bound to be Christian.”

 

KENNY \- “I made up the Jewish percentage. Is anybody here a Buddhist?”

 

RUPERT \- “If I’m any religion, I’d be a Pastafarian.”

 

OZZIE \- “O-Oh, man, I’ve heard of that. Spaghetti monster...”

 

KENNY \- “Yeah, but doesn’t it go to show there are so many different people in the world!? It’s so awesome! See even in a small group of sixteen, like us, there are still so many differences.”

 

_ He then sighs, leaning on the baseball bat. _

 

KENNY \- “Sucks people can’t accept these differences so easily.”

 

RUPERT \- “I try an’ keep outta that shit. Everything everybody says is right so don’t ask me a thing, awright? I want nowt to do wi’ it.”

 

OZZIE \- “I know that feeling. But, hey, we have Kenny to keep the peace for us, right? You’re easily the most accepting out of all of us!”

 

RUPERT \- “Polar fucken opposite to Suzuhana. Wha’ she said was bang out o’ order.”

 

_ Kenny goes quiet, sitting opposite the table tennis table and watching the game. _

 

OZZIE \- “Nobody really agrees with Suzuhana anyway. Except maybe Marcello…”

 

RUPERT \- “Christ, it’s so obvious he wants to get on ‘er. Too easily swayed wi’ looks.”

 

KENNY \- “I guess it seems that way…? Well it’s not like we know him all that well.”

 

OZZIE \- “They do say second impressions are the correct ones.”

 

KENNY \- “Well I wanna get along with everybody here. If we’re all at odds for one reason or another or start taking sides then people are gonna be more...likely to kill.”

 

_ It’s horrible when you’re having a good time, then the reason as to why you’re here surfaces to bring you despair. I feel like I’m in a constant state of nearly forgetting the entire situation- then somebody brings it up. _

 

OZZIE \- “I’m not going to kill anybody. I don’t kill animals and I don’t kill humans.”

 

KENNY \- “Same here. Well...uh, humanely killing animals is okay.”

 

RUPERT \- “An’ ye can’t humanely kill a person?”

 

OZZIE \- “Seems like ironic wording to me.”

 

_ The game continues in silence for a few moments. _

 

KENNY \- “As...useless as it might sound, can we...as a group, the three of us, agree that we’ll never kill anybody.”

 

OZZIE \- “I’ll agree. I don’t want to kill anybody. I couldn’t do it…”

 

RUPERT \- “I’ll ‘ave a punch up wi’ a few people but I ain’t gonna kill ‘em.”

 

OZZIE \- “It...is hard to trust a group of people with, quite literally, your life, but...starting in a small group isn’t so bad.”

 

KENNY \- “Even then, we can all defend ourselves to a degree right? I don’t think it’s a good idea to carry weapons and even then Konstanze would beat our asses.”

 

RUPERT \- “Aye, up, think you could get away wi’ it if it’s summat like...normal.”

 

KENNY \- “Uh...wanna run that one by me again?”

 

_ Ugh, is my accent that fucking bad? I put down the paddle. _

 

RUPERT \- “The trick wi’ havin’ summat to defend yourself with is havin’ summat people wouldn’t think was odd. So, if you were an art student, a good thing to use would be a pair o’ scissors. Stick ‘em in a pencil case an’ nobody looks twice.”

 

_ I gesture over to the bat he’s holding. _

 

RUPERT \- “Like that bat. It’s no’ overly aggressive lookin’ and if stereotype is anythin’ to go by, people ain’t gonna look twice at you wi’ it. Jus’ keep it in yer room or summat and if anythin’ goes down at night ye can use tha’ for defense.”

 

_ Ozzie and Kenny stare at me. _

 

KENNY \- “That’s...not a bad idea. But at the same time, it feels horrible to be carrying around weapons on the off-chance I’ll have to defend myself…”

 

RUPERT \- “Then don’t carry it ‘round. Keep it in your room.”

 

KENNY \- “Still feels...deceitful somehow.”

 

RUPERT \- “Awright, it was jus’ a suggestion. 

 

_ Ozzie and I finished our game in silence as Kenny looks for something else to do, but he’s still holding the bat. _

 

KENNY \- “There’s lots of stuff here we can do as a big group. They have a twister mat!”

 

RUPERT \- “Twister? Aye, ‘magine Suzuhana and Konnie playin’ that….”

 

_ Ozzie stifles a giggle, throwing the ball back in the basket and collecting the paddles. _

 

OZZIE \- “Okay but a twister game between Konnie, Suzuhana, Zlata and Rosalie.”

 

KENNY \- “A twister game between the four most serious fucking girls in this building. Hahah~ Christ, that sounds hilarious!”

 

RUPERT \- “Jingyi might ‘ave an advantage considering she’s so small.”

 

OZZIE \- “Lotika would probably play- and Leandro too…”

 

KENNY \- “Dude we should go ask if they’ll play with us.”

 

RUPERT \- “I’ll gi’ you half of my life savings if you ask Zlata to play twister wi’ us.”

 

_ Kenny laughs as we make our way out of the game room- he’s still holding the baseball bat and I wonder if he’s aware of this. Behind us, I spot Ola leaving the library too. _

 

RUPERT \- “Oy, Ola. Find the books you need?”

 

_ Ola flinches slightly, as Kenny waves at her. She begrudgingly waves back. _

 

OLA \- “More than I could’ve imagined. How was the game room?”

 

KENNY \- “We found a twister mat!”

 

OLA \- “A...what mat?”

 

OZZIE \- “It’s a game where you play on a mat with different colours. You’re...supposed to put your hand or foot on a specified colour with three other people playing at the same time so you like...have to stretch over or under them or something....”

 

OLA \- “Oh, I know that game. It’s called something different back home. Sounds fun though!”

 

KENNY \- “So you’ll play?!”

 

OLA \- “Maybe…”

 

LOTIKA \- “Hello! Hello! I found you all!”

 

_ Lotika’s chipper voice can be heard from the end of the corridor where she is waving at us. She puts her hands together and beams. _

 

LOTIKA \- “Kamogelo and Jingyi made lunch for all of us- isn’t that nice~? I was told to bring you all here!”

 

OZZIE \- “That does sound pretty nice…”

 

LOTIKA \- “Yes, yes, so we all have to go to the cafeteria! Oh! And Konnie wanted to talk about something too!”

 

_ Eh? Well considering Konstanze, it’s not a surprise but what else can she possibly want? _

 

_ The three of us trudge slowly behind Lotika and Ola, who are deep in conversation about something else. Kenny is still gripping the baseball bat and his expression looks oddly tense- just what is he thinking…? _

 

_ Lotika opens the door for us to the cafeteria and we spot everybody else is here already. Kamogelo is ladling some kind of soup and Jingyi is taking the bowls around to everybody- she has one in each hand and one balanced on her head. _

 

KAMOGELO \- “Careful, kiddo!”

 

JINGYI \- “Jingyi is very careful!”

 

_ I take a seat between Ozzie and Kenny, with Ola and Lotika opposite and a bowl of soup is thrust in front of me by Jingyi. _

 

LOTIKA \- “Wow, wow, looks super delicious!”

 

IDABELLA \- “You didn’t have to do this for us, Kamogelo!”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Hey, Jingyi helped too. Hope you all like it.”

 

CLAUDE \- “I think Konstanze wanted to talk to us about something…?”

 

_ Konstanze is sat at the head of the table, eyes closed in deep thought- she has yet to touch her bowl of soup and-- fucking hell, this is good shit. I didn’t realise how hungry I was until I started eating. _

 

KONSTANZE \- “It’s very kind for Kamogelo to cook for us today- might I suggest creating a rota in which we cook meals? It would be unfair to thrust all cooking duties upon Kamogelo and Jingyi.”

 

ROSALIE \- “Konstanze is correct.”

 

LEANDRO \- “Yeah- as amazing as Kamogelo’s cooking is, it ain’t fair to make him do all the work. How’re we gonna divide the rota, though?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “I believe two people elected to cook each day is the fairest way to do it. I can draw up a rota tonight for everybody.”

 

KIM-SEONG  \- “Not all of us can cook, though…”

 

IDABELLA \- “Well, then, now’s the time to learn! It’s not as difficult as you might think…”

 

MARCELLO \- “Why does Konnie get to take charge of everything…?”

 

_ … _

 

MARCELLO \- “I-I didn’t say it was a bad thing! It’s just…”

 

KONSTANZE \- “I apologise if I’m becoming overbearing.”

 

SUZUHANA \- “If you must pair me with somebody, I’d appreciate it was somebody I got along with.”

 

_ Meaning, anybody but Kenny. _

 

KONSTANZE \- “I cannot work this around everybody’s needs but I can do my best, so long as you’re willing to fulfill your own duties.”

 

SUZUHANA \- “I suppose I have to.”

 

RUPERT \- “We all ‘ave to. Jus’ do what you’re told.”

 

_ It’s...now deafeningly quiet and I’d regret making that comment if Suzuhana’s behaviour didn’t fuck me off so much. I’d wonder if she’s being purposely antagonistic but… _

 

LEANDRO \- “Yeesh. Well, I suck at cooking so expect nothing but burnt food!”

 

LOTIKA \- “Lotika makes tasty dirt!”

 

KENNY \- “Wow you guys I can’t fuckin’ wait!”

 

ROSALIE \- “I would not mind...teaching cooking.”

 

OZZIE \- “I could use some cooking lessons but I can only make vegetarian dishes…”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Oh, man, there’s a thought. A whole load of people have their own dietary requirements. I should jot that all down before I get someone sick.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “We can do that after lunch- there was one more thing I wanted to discuss, if that is okay?”

 

_ A few murmurs of agreement prompts her to clear her throat. _

 

KONSTANZE \- “While it’s imperative we keep ourselves safe...I was planning on holding a movie night tonight.”

 

_ A movie night…? _

 

OLA \- “Hey, that sounds fun!”

 

LOTIKA \- “Oh, oh, oh~! Which one?”

 

MARCELLO \- “That’s a pretty good idea, y’know! We could watch something really  _ really _ \--”

 

LEANDRO \- “Suggest anything remotely sexual and your head goes through the table.”

 

MARCELLO \- “Psshh.”

 

JINGYI \- “Jingyi likes movies! Fighting ones!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Well it was just a thought, but if everybody is in agreement then we can pick one out tonight. I was thinking perhaps after dinner. Does 7PM sound acceptable?”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Sure does, Konnie. Might be able to whip up some popcorn for it!”

 

IDABELLA \- “I do really like popcorn…”

 

KENNY \- “This is a killer idea! We were gonna suggest playing a game but that can wait!”

 

ROSALIE \- “A game…?”

 

KENNY \- “Yeah. Hey, uh...Zlata! Yo, Zlata!”

 

_ Oh god is he actually going to do it. I cover my mouth with my hand and Ozzie chokes on his soup. _

 

ZLATA \- “Hn?”

 

KENNY \- “Do you wanna play twister with us later? Hey, we can do it today before the movie!”

 

ZLATA \- “Twister?”

 

KENNY \- “Yeah! It’s where you, uh...um…”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Dude, I got this.”

 

_ Kamogelo begins to chat to Zlata in Russian and a few others shoot strange looks at Kenny. _

 

IDABELLA \- “Of all the people in the world to ask…”

 

MARCELLO \- “We should plan Kenny’s funeral now I think!”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “Hey, you never know! She might like it!”

 

_ As he says this, the image of Zlata in her tight black dress and six inch heels playing twister crosses all of our minds and it’s both disturbing and hilarious. _

 

_ We watch as gradually, a mild expression of realistion crossed Zlata’s features. She then turns back to Kenny, as stony faced as before. _

 

ZLATA \- “....alright.”

 

_ There are...several muffled snorts around the table which Zlata either hasn’t noticed or has decided to ignore. Konstanze looks very close to holding her head in her hands, knowing full well Kenny asked her as a joke. _

 

_ Speaking of Kenny, he looks...pleasantly shocked. _

 

KENNY \- “Awesome!”

 

_ I...didn’t think she’d accept.  _

 

KENNY \- “Hey, Rupert, are you playin’?”

 

RUPERT \- “Uh...nah, I’ll jus’ watch.”

 

OZZIE \- “Me too...Ola might play though!”

 

_ Ola chokes on her soup at the mention. _

 

OLA \- “I-I said maybe!”

 

LOTIKA \- “Can I play?”

 

JINGYI \- “Jingyi wants to play too!”

 

RUPERT \- “Look, jus’ come to the game room if ye wanna play.”

 

KENNY \- “Hey, Suzuhana, wanna play?”

 

SUZUHANA \- “Is that a joke?”

 

KENNY \- “Um...no?”

 

SUZUHANA \- “I’m not going to play.”

 

RUPERT \- “Shame.”

 

_ Suzuhana glares at me. _

 

MARCELLO \- “I-It’s okay, maybe we could do something together!”

 

_ Christ. _

 

SUZUHANA \- “Somehow that sounds like the better option.”

 

_ Suzuhana clearly does not hold either of them in high esteem but I’d be lying if I said I wanted her to be there. _

 

JINGYI \- “FINISHED!”

 

_ Jingyi slams her bowl down onto the table with immense force, and then grins. _

 

JINGYI \- “Can we play now?”

 

_ Kenny pushes his empty bowl away, as do Ola and Lotika. _

 

KENNY \- “Sure thing, kiddo! Let’s go set it up.”

 

_ He rises and trots out of the room with Jingyi on his heels- Ola, Lotika, Kim-Seong and Leandro too, all follow behind him along with….Zlata. _

 

_ Kamogelo pushes his chair away and begins collecting the empty bowls with Konstanze’s help. Suzuhana takes this moment to slip out with Marcello trailing behind her too. _

 

OZZIE \- “I wonder what Suzuhana’s deal is...is she really going to hang out with Marcello? I-I mean, not that he’s a bad guy!! He just...doesn’t seem like her type is all…”

 

RUPERT \- “I were wonderin’ the same thing…”

 

CLAUDE \- “While I think her attitude really, uh...leaves something to be desired...I don’t think she means any harm. I mean, when you get down to it, we’re all just trying to protect ourselves.”

 

IDABELLA \- “That’s right, but...Kenny and Konstanze are both going out of their ways to protect everybody else too. Perhaps the mindset they’ve adopted is if you protect somebody then they will protect you back.”

 

RUPERT \- “Aye, but tha’s no’ how the world always works. Guess tha’s how Suzuhana thinks anol…”

 

OZZIE \- “Even so she’s far too aggressive in that aspect...it really conflicts with Kenny’s entire personality.”

 

CLAUDE&IDABELLA \- “We noticed….”

 

_ I push the empty bowl away and Ozzie does too, Idabella collects the remaining bowls. _

 

RUPERT \- “We should go and see how they’re doing.”

 

OZZIE \- “Huh, oh yeah...this’ll be interesting, huh?”

 

_ We stand and leave the cafeteria, heading back to the game room. _

 

OZZIE \- “I really didn’t think Zlata would agree, y’know...she always seems so cold.”

 

RUPERT \- “Not like we know ‘er that well, though…”

 

OZZIE \- “Still, it’s nice to include her. I mean...we completely forgot about her this morning.”

 

_ He winces as he says this. _

 

RUPERT \- “Prolly shouldn’t tell ‘er that.”

 

_ We enter the game room, keeping our voices low, to see the twister mat already set up and a game already in progress. So far, Kenny is stretched across the mat and Jingyi is stood beside him, repeatedly patting his head to distract him. Kim-Seong spins the little wheel for Leandro, who goes and places his right hand on blue. Lotika is watching intently. _

 

KENNY \- “Hey, dudes! The game already started!”

 

OZZIE \- “W-We can see that.”

 

RUPERT \- “Go on, Zlata, get in there.”

 

_ Zlata looks at me with raised eyebrows, as if she didn’t quite understand what I meant. Kim-Seong spins the wheel for her- left hand red, placing her next to Leandro and slightly under Kenny. _

 

JINGYI \- “Jingyi’s turn!!”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “Alright, alright- uhhh….left foot green!”

 

_ Jingyi places her other foot on the mat and looks somewhat underwhelmed. _

 

KIM-SEONG \- “Kenny- left foot red!”

 

KENNY \- “W-Wh-- that’s physically impossible!”

 

_ He stretches his leg over the mat so it appears as if he’s doing the splits. Jingyi giggles in a manner that precedes mischief.  _

 

RUPERT \- “Ey, look, Jingyi’s in a prime position to jus’ deck ‘im in the nuts.”

 

OZZIE \- “Rupert- don’t encourage her!”

 

RUPERT \- “What- like you don’t wanna see ‘im get kicked in the knackers.”

 

_ Ozzie hushes me and the expression on Jingyi’s face is devilish.  _

 

KIM-SEONG \- “Leandro…~ Right hand yellow!”

 

_ Leandro does so, making his hands side by side. He does a few push-ups and Jingyi claps. _

 

KIM-SEONG \- “Zlata- right foot green!”

 

LOTIKA \- “Pshhhh…”

 

_ Lotika snorts, stifling a giggle as Zlata realises she has to hoist her leg over Leandro to put her foot on green. She pauses, before kicking off her heels and expertly maneuvering over Leandro, who lowers himself as far as he can. _

 

_ Needless to say we are...impressed. _

 

_ The game continues with Kim-Seong shouting commands- he’s not even spinning the wheel anymore he’s just making up the ones that look the hardest and would make for the most compromising positions but so far nobody’s letting up. _

 

JINGYI \- “ _ Jingyi Kick _ !”

 

_ Aaand there goes Kenny. She didn’t even kick him, but her announcement was enough to send Kenny toppling over. He pouts at Jingyi, who looks suspiciously innocent, before joining us on the couch. _

 

RUPERT \- “That was embarrassin’...”

 

KENNY \- “Hey, man, you have no idea how much it hurts!”

 

_ We watch the rest of the game play out- it’s stretched much longer than we thought it would. Apparently these guys have nerves of steel, but we watch as Jingyi attempts to shimmy under Leandro- who is now fucking backwards for some reason, only for her to slip and land on her back. _

 

_ She lets out a defeated whine and Lotika claps in delight. That leaves Leandro and Zlata. _

 

LEANDRO \- “Ah, sorry gal but I’m not letting up now.”

 

ZLATA \- “Также я.”   _ (*Likewise*) _

 

_ This is...incredibly fucking surreal to watch. A muscular Brazilian athlete playing twister against a towering Russian cellist. When Monokuma said ‘Killing Game’ this wasn’t quite what I had in mind. _

 

LOTIKA \- “Come ooon Zlata~!”

 

JINGYI \- “Zlata, Zlata, Zlata!”

 

_ The girls seem to be cheering Zlata on- her expression is still unreadable. _

 

RUPERT \- “Ye can do it, Leandro.”

 

KENNY \- “Don’t let her beat you, man!”

 

_ We both cheer on our respective players- they’re both looking rather dishevelled now and this is probably the longest game of twister I’ve ever fucking seen - this is ridiculous. _

 

_ I look over to see Konstanze, Idabella and Kamogelo in the doorway, watching this weird situation play out with raised eyebrows. _

 

_ Eventually, as Kim-Seong calls out right foot red- Leandro topples from under Zlata, making her the, uh...unexpected champion. The group clap and Zlata rises from the mat, fixing her appearance and fetching her heels. _

 

LOTIKA \- “That was very impressive!”

 

JINGYI \- “Zlata wins!”

 

_ Zlata nods but slips out of the room without another word. Guess she’s been sociable enough for today. I honestly didn’t expect this to happen... _

 

KAMOGELO \- “That was...interesting.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “She played remarkably well.”

 

LEANDRO \- “You’re telling me! She don’t look it but her legs are damn muscular.”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “Wow, wow, the athlete got beaten by a musician! That’s pretty funny~!”

 

LEANDRO \- “That was pretty fun, gotta say. Can’t believe Kenny bailed first.”

 

KENNY \- “Hey- you don’t know how hard that kid can kick! It’s like taking a bullet!”

 

_ Jingyi beams as she trots past to exit the game room. Guess she’s pretty proud of her little stunt though Kenny seems less than thrilled. _

 

KONSTANZE \- “If you don’t mind me interrupting for a moment- I drew up the rota for kitchen duty. It’s pinned on the cafeteria door so if you wouldn’t mind taking a moment out of your day to observe it, it would be much obliged.”

 

KENNY \- “Hey, Konnie, wanna play twister with us?”

 

_ Konstanze looks mildly alarmed. _

 

KONSTANZE \- “I’m...afraid I’ll have to decline. I’m not so good at these kinds of games, not to mention I’m going to set up the AV Room for tonight.”

 

LOTIKA \- “Did you choose a film for us to watch~?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Well it’s not really up to me. You can come with me and have a look at all the films they have.”

 

_ Lotika claps her hands and dances over towards Konstanze as the two of them leave for the AV Room. Kamogelo, Idabella and Leandro also take their leave, leaving Kenny, Ozzie and I alone in the game room. _

 

_ I dunno about these guys but I’m not playing twister. _

 

_ … _

 

KENNY \- “Wanna play some table tennis?”

 

OZZIE \- “Sounds good.”

 

_ We spend the rest of the time until dinner lazily hitting the ball back and forth between the three of us. It’s quiet- not much is said except a few words between Kenny and Ozzie about their lives back home. While the mood is lax, it’s still somewhat tense. _

 

_ I wonder where Kenny’s baseball bat went…? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh any language or cultural anomalies just gimme a shout cause i'm trying my best y'hear


	3. CHAPTER 1-2: NOW COMMENCING THE WORLD MEETING OF DESPAIR

_ Hours later, we’re summoned from the game room down to the cafeteria for dinner, which Kamogelo has again so kindly made. We take this opportunity to check out the rota on the cafeteria door. _

 

KENNY \- “Hey, Rupert, we’re paired up! Neat!”

 

_ Christ. _

 

_ I peer over their shoulders at the rota.  _

 

**KITCHEN ROTA**

 

Monday \- Kamogelo & Jingyi & Lotika

Tuesday \- Kenny & Rupert

Wednesday \- Claude & Rosalie

Thursday \- Ola & Ozzie

Friday \- Idabella & Konstanze

Saturday  \- Leandro & Marcello & Kim-Seong

Sunday \- Suzuhana & Zlata

 

_ Aside from the fact I just knew I’d get paired with Kenny, the arrangement doesn’t seem so bad. Konstanze clearly thought about this- also her handwriting is impeccable, like...wow. _

 

OZZIE \- “Did...she hand write this? It looks printed!”

 

RUPERT \- “Tha’s what I were thinkin’...”

 

KENNY \- “That’s some impressive penmanship. Anyway, I guess we’re cookin’ tomorrow, Rupert! What should we make?”

 

RUPERT \- “Cereal.”

 

KENNY \- “Uh...huh. What about lunch?”

 

RUPERT \- “Sandwich.”

 

OZZIE \- “.....”

 

KENNY \- “And...dinner?”

 

RUPERT \- “Another sandwich.”

 

_ Ozzie snickers as we open the door to the cafeteria. _

 

KENNY \- “You’re not really creative, are you Rupert?”

 

RUPERT \- “S’not that I ain’t creative, s’more the fact I can’t cook.”

 

KENNY \- “Then I guess I’ll be teaching you all I know!”

 

RUPERT \- “The fuck you will.”

 

_ We take a seat in our now designated spots and the clanging coming from the kitchen suggests Kamogelo and Jingyi are still cooking. Suzuhana and Marcello are still mysteriously missing and Zlata is early for once. _

 

IDABELLA \- “Ahh, Kamogelo’s cooking smells so good~!”

 

CLAUDE \- “You two are cooking for us tomorrow, aren’t you? What’s on the menu?”

 

KENNY & RUPERT \- “Sandwiches.”

 

_ Kenny snorts, realising we both spoke at the same time and Ozzie is laughing because, well, guess we’re having sandwiches tomorrow. _

 

LEANDRO \- “Oh my god I can’t fucking wait you guys.”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “Are you at least gonna put something good in them?”

 

RUPERT \- “Uh...lessee. Ye can ‘ave jam, ham, cheese an’ marmite. Howsat sound?”

 

LOTIKA \- “What’s marmite?”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “I dunno what marmite is either...sounds like a disease.”

 

RUPERT \- “It...it’s really not, it’s like...a kind o’ spread made from yeast extract. Like the leftover’s o’ brewin’ beer.”

 

KENNY \- “Oh, cause you’re the Ultimate Brewer right?”

 

RUPERT \- “It has...literally nowt to do wi’ that. S’jus’ a coincidence.”

 

OZZIE \- “Oh, so it’s like...Vegemite?”

 

RUPERT \- “If tha’s the Aussie equivalen’, then aye.”

 

LEANDRO \- “Yeast...extract? That can’t be good…”

 

LOTIKA \- “Sounds yucky!”

 

KENNY \- “You Brits eat some weird stuff…”

 

KONSTANZE \- “It’s not strange. We have a variation of it back home in Germany, too. I find it quite tasty.”

 

RUPERT \- “Thank you.”

 

KENNY \- “Either way I don’t think you’ll find any here- but we really gotta think of something better to cook tomorrow than sandwiches.”

 

IDABELLA \- “I don’t mind sandwiches- as long as they’re tasty.”

 

LOTIKA \- “Sandwiches are always good so long as you keep marmite away from it…”

 

KONSTANZE \- “It is really not as bad as you might think…”

 

JINGYI \- “Food time!”

 

_ Jingyi rushes out with many plates in her tiny arms, distributing them around the table- looks like some kind of meat with vegetables. Smells damn good too. _

 

_ A plate is thrust in front of me and I immediately start eating- looking over both Ozzie and Ola just have vegetables and no meat. The door opens behind us and as the room grows silent, I can only assume it’s Suzuhana and Marcello. _

 

_ They...really hung out together? _

 

KAMOGELO \- “Hey guys, your plates are out here already. Hope you don’t mind- it’s not much.”

 

LOTIKA \- “Tastes very good, very good!”

 

JINGYI \- “Jingyi helped hurt the meat!”

 

OZZIE \- “Hurt...the meat?”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Tenderised it. Almost destroyed it in the process but it tastes pretty darn good.”

 

_ Kamogelo ruffles Jingyi’s hair, yet she looks somewhat downcast. _

 

JINGYI \- “Jingyi’s bear isn’t here…”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Hey, he stopped by earlier!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Is this the Chinese translation bear?”

 

CLAUDE \- “She really has taken a liking to it. Is that safe?”

 

KAMOGELO \- “It...doesn’t seem to be that bad. She just likes it being around, but...she keeps accidentally breaking the circuits in it’s paws so it has to go off and get repaired every now and then.”

 

JINGYI \- “The bear is weak.”

 

_ Why does everything she says sounds like some kind of horrible translation meme? _

 

IDABELLA \- “Maybe it’s good as a kind of comfort item. I can’t imagine Monokuma would be too happy about her breaking the bear’s circuits.”

 

MONOKUMA \- “You’re damn right I’m not!”

 

_ Monokuma appears, standing at the far end of the table with crossed arms. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “And I’m still pretty ticked off you rejected my gift of all those translators--”

 

_ He sighs with a shrug. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “Ah, well, guess it can’t be helped.”

 

LEANDRO \- “What the hell do you want?”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “We’re trying to eat here! Stupid bear!”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Yeesh, fine. I was hoping things would heat up earlier but now it’s all boring again- also China got fixed again…”

 

JINGYI \- “Yay!”

 

MONOKUMA \- “...so easy on the death grip, kid!”

 

_ Jingyi shrugs, shoving a chunk of beef into her mouth and chomping furiously. _

 

_ I try my best to drown out Monokuma by distracting myself with the crunchiest vegetables- he is eventually shooed away by Konstanze as we finish up our food. _

 

KENNY \- “Oh, hey, did you pick a movie?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “We did, actually, though if anybody has any other ideas you’re welcome to suggest.”

 

LOTIKA \- “We picked Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!”

 

RUPERT \- “Aye, tha’s a mint film.”

 

OZZIE \- “Oh, I like that one!”

 

OLA \- “I don’t think I’ve seen it before. Is it good?”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Oh, it’s real good. Nice choice you gals.”

 

_ The room delves into quiet chatter as people began finishing up their plates- as per usual, Kamogelo and Konstanze are the ones to clear them up. Suzuhana pushes her chair out to get up and leave. _

 

KENNY \- “Hey, Suzuhana, do you want to watch the movie with us? Pretty sure Kamogelo’s makin’ popcorn.”

 

_ I can tell he’s not trying to be passive aggressive here- he’s...genuinely offering. His expression is soft and he offers a small smile- Suzuhana expression still looks mild though it’s hard to tell with her long fringe. After a few second, I see her expression twist into something like scorn and she, once again, flounces out of the room. _

 

MARCELLO \- “I’m...going to go and make sure she’s okay. I’ll be back in time for the movie though!”

 

_ Marcello dashes out after her, to nobody’s surprise. _

 

KENNY \- “Okay, for real, did I do anything weird?”

 

LEANDRO \- “You literally didn’t man- I think that girl’s got issues.”

 

OZZIE \- “It...does seem like she’s got her own problems. Maybe it’s best to leave her be.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “It’s best to keep tensions low. If she’d like to join us to watch the film she’s welcome to.”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Maybe Marcello could convince her to come?”

 

JINGYI \- “Jingyi wants to watch movie now!”

 

LOTIKA \- “Yes, yes, can we start?”

 

KAMOGELO \- “If you guys all wanna head over to the AV Room I’ll get started on the popcorn! Just don’t start without me!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “It’s approaching 6:50PM so now is a good time to begin.”

 

LEANDRO \- “Hell yeah- you comin’ Zlata?”

 

_ Zlata shakes her head silently, gets up and leaves.  _

 

OZZIE \- “Well...she did play Twister with us earlier!”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “She used up all her social energy for Twister- now she has to go and recharge.”

 

IDABELLA \- “She’s not a robot, you know…”

 

LOTIKA \- “Come on, come on, let’s go!”

 

JINGYI \- “Movie time!”

 

_ Jingyi and Lotika skip out of the room, followed closely by Leandro, Kim-Seong and Kenny- Rosalie, Claude and Konstanze follow behind lazily. _

 

OLA \- “I-I guess I’m pretty excited for this movie! It’s not often I get to watch them. I’m always too busy with my work.”

 

OZZIE \- “I like to have a movie on in the background when I’m working…”

 

RUPERT \- “I jus’ keep m’headphones in. Prefer music to movies.”

 

_ We follow behind the larger group into the AV Room. Ola taps me on the shoulder and gestures behind us where Marcello stands breathless. He grins. _

 

MARCELLO \- “Guess I got here just in time, huh?”

 

OZZIE \- “How’s Suzuhana?”

 

MARCELLO \- “Ahh...she said she was going to bed early so she kicked me out- ahahah~”

 

_ I’m sure that’s the reason why. _

 

_ We file into the room, where Konstanze has already set the movie up- the movie menu plays on the big screen at the front. Behind the big screen, at the back of the room, are rows of computers. Bookshelves full of CD’s and DVD’s line the walls. _

 

_ Lotika and Jingyi appear to have gathered as many blankets as possible to throw on the floor where I assume we’ll be sitting. I opt to sit at the back, next to Ozzie and Ola. Kenny lies on his side- he stretches out in front of Ola and gives her a big, cheeky grin. _

 

_ Ola takes his head and pushes it to face the screen. _

 

KAMOGELO \- “Yo, yo, yo- I brought the popcorn! There’s plenty left in the kitchen if we run out!”

 

JINGYI \- “Popcorn!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Are we all ready?”

 

_ Ozzie nabs a small bowl of popcorn for us to share as Konstanze presses play on the movie. The last thing we can hear before the movie starts is Ola’s hushed cry as Kenny flicks a piece of popcorn at her. _

 

_ The movie starts and it’s a very...familiar feeling for me, having watched it many times as a kid, but watching something so familiar in such a foreign place is jarring. It feels surreal.  _

 

_ The movie progresses to the main character running home with a golden ticket- his shack of a house resembles my own home back in Blighty, which is somewhat sad to think about. There are a few hushed whispers, and Jingyi’s tiny figure crosses the screen. _

 

JINGYI \- “More popcorn!”

 

_ She leaves, probably to nab more popcorn from the kitchen. Kenny has ceased his popcorn assault against Ola, but is now sat on the far side of the group against one of the tables. From...the looks of it, he’s not paying attention. I can hear the door behind us open once more, allowing a stream of light to illuminate the room. _

 

LEANDRO \- “Hey, can somebody shut the door?”

 

_ The door shuts, almost immediately. _

 

LEANDRO \- “Thanks.”

 

_ I don’t question Kenny’s slightly mopey expression for the entirety of the film, until I glance over to see he’s disappeared. I crane my neck back and I’m able to catch a glimpse of him leaving the room. I whisper to Ozzie. _

 

RUPERT \- “Oy...Kenny bailed.”

 

OZZIE \- “Eh? He’s gone…?”

 

RUPERT \- “Aye.”

 

OZZIE \- “Maybe...he just went to the toilet.”

 

_ I think about that statement for quite a while and before I realise- it’s been ten minutes. Nobody takes that long on the john- not even to take a shit. _

 

_ I quietly creep up towards the door and slip out without anybody noticing. I don’t mind missing the film anyway- I’ve seen it a hundred times. _

 

_ The light of the corridor is blinding in comparison to the darkness of the AV Room. I make my way over to the dormitory corridor. Lessee- Zlata and Suzuhana are probably in their rooms right now. _

 

_ I find Kenny’s room and it’s unlocked, slightly ajar. I wonder if he’s upset about Suzuhana?  _

 

_ I wonder why I’m doing this for him? _

 

_ I push the door open… _

 

_ … _

 

_ That....that’s… _

 

RUPERT \- “Wh...what the-- what the fuck!?”

 

_ Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit, shit, shit, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT-- holy fuck, holy shit, I need to-- Zlata, I need to find Zlata- I need to find anybody-- _

 

_ I run out of the room and bang loudly on Zlata’s door with my fists, hard enough to bruise my hands and the door. Open up- open up! _

 

RUPERT \- “Zlata, Zlata- get out ‘ere- Seriously--!!”

 

_ The door swings open and Zlata looks less than impressed but fuck if I care because I grab her hand and drag her back to Kenny’s room-- and she’s struggling to pull away from me, before she stops and-- _

 

ZLATA \- “ Ебена мать”    _ (*Holy fuck*) _

  
  


_ *Bing Bong Bing Bong~!* _

  
  


_ *Ahem- attention all meeting participants! A  _ **_body has been discovered!_ ** _ You will have a period of time to investigate before the trial begins!* _

 

_ Lying on the floor, atop Kenny’s crumpled and torn bedsheets, is the bruised, bloody and dishevelled corpse of… _

 

_...Suzuhana Kawase. _


	4. CHAPTER 1-3: NOW COMMENCING THE WORLD MEETING OF DESPAIR - INVESTIGATION

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ech i don't normally put warnings on things but there's like mention of suspected sexual assault

_ The room is sickening silent as we hear the hurried footsteps of the other group, desperately searching for us. I don’t turn around to greet them as my eyes are glued to Suzuhana’s body. _

 

_ Cow. _

 

KONSTANZE \- “G-Gott im himmel!”

 

OZZIE \- “O-Oh my g…”

 

_ Ola darts forward to inspect the body- checking its pulse, its eyes, before retreating slowly. _

 

OLA \- “She’s...dead.”

 

LEANDRO \- “Y-Yeah, as if the body discovery announcement didn’t tell us that!!”

 

JINGYI \- “S-Suzu...w-waaaaah!!”

 

KAMOGELO \- “O-Oh, jeez...h-hey, c’mon, Jingyi, let’s...let’s go find that bear of yours…”

 

MARCELLO \- “O-Oh...mio dio. Suzuhana!!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Don’t touch her!”

 

LOTIKA \- “Suzuhana, Suzuhana...how unfortunate…”

 

KENNY \- “W-What the hell happened, here?!”

 

_ It seems Kenny is late to the party- if he wasn’t in here, then where the fuck did he disappear to? _

 

KIM-SEONG \- “Why don’t you tell us- she’s in your room!”

 

CLAUDE \- “As true as that is, random accusations help nobody.”

 

ROSALIE \- “W-We...must investigate.”

 

_ Of course- an investigation...but-- the motive- _

 

MONOKUMA \- “Upupupu~ Gyahahaha~! Finally- watching you guys was painful! Nice to finally get some action here!”

 

IDABELLA \- “T-The motive!”

 

MONOKUMA \- “The motive? What about it?”

 

KENNY \- “You said the killer would be able to go free without any trial. So...who is it?”

 

OLA \- “Who killed Suzuhana! Tell us!”

 

_ Monokuma remains quiet, looking between Suzuhana’s body and the group, before shrugging. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “You know the rules, dontcha? A trial occurs after every murder- you’re wasting time standing around!”

 

LEANDRO \- “But you said-- the motive--!”

 

MONOKUMA \- “I made it up, idiot! What, don’t act so surprised! Like I said, even I can’t break the rules!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “So the trial must commence?”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Yep, yep, yep! I’d get cracking if I were you!”

 

CLAUDE \- “Then what was the point? The motive is void...was that just to get us to kill?”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Duh! Well, fine, if you’re gonna be so pedantic about this-- the real part of this motive I had planned was to withhold giving you the Monokuma File!”

 

OZZIE \- “The what…?”

 

MONOKUMA \- “An autopsy report! Always useful in a murder case, don’tcha find? Shame you’ll be missin’ out this time around! Anyway, time is precious here so I’ll be off! Happy investigating~!”

 

_ He backs out of the room with a menacing grin, leaving us in the room with Suzuhana’s body. Her eyes are wide, bulging out of their sockets and a line of spit runs from her mouth, mixing with the dried blood on her face. _

 

_ Just what happened here? _

 

***INVESTIGATION START***

  
  


_ Ola and Konstanze are investigating the body thoroughly- a few others have left to investigate around the place. Ozzie and Kenny are talking quietly in the corner. Where do I start…? _

 

RUPERT \- “So...how’s it lookin’?”

 

OLA \- “Bad, though these injuries are very strange. Bruising around the wrists in particular- they’re clearly broken. She’s been hit in the face as well.”

 

**EVIDENCE - SUZUHANA’S BROKEN WRISTS**

 

**EVIDENCE - SUZUHANA’S BROKEN NOSE**

 

KONSTANZE \- “Her kimono is undone as well- she’s been undressed.”

 

RUPERT \- “Undressed…?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Mm- I’d wager the culprit is somebody who doesn’t know how to tie a kimono but it brings me to wonder just why she’s undressed like this.”

 

OLA \- “C-Could...it be assault?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Sexual assault is a possibility, but I’d need to check to be absolutely sure.”

 

_ Suzuhana looks a mess. Her kimono is slightly torn and ruffled- Zlata had placed the fabric of the kimono over her body before the others arrived for Suzuhana’s dignity. Konstanze has already closed her eyes. _

 

**EVIDENCE - SUZUHANA’S KIMONO**

 

_ Though something looks rather odd about her face... _

 

RUPERT \- “Oy, whassat?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “What’s what?”

 

_ I gesture to her neck. _

 

RUPERT \- “That line around ‘er neck.”

 

OLA \- “I was wondering that too. From the looks of it, it looks as if she’s been strangled but judging by the size and the depth of the wound, it’s something incredibly thin. Normal rope would just burn the skin around the neck, not cut into it.”

 

**EVIDENCE - SUZUHANA’S NECK WOUND**

 

KONSTANZE \- “I’ve briefly surveyed the room and there’s nothing here that fits the description. Hopefully the others will have better luck searching the facility. Ola, have you got any idea yet of when the murder could’ve occured?”

 

OLA \- “Not specifically, but judging by how the blood has tried, she’s been dead for quite a while. She can’t have been killed within the past twenty minutes.”

 

**EVIDENCE - OLA’S ACCOUNT**

 

RUPERT \- “So it had to ‘ave ‘appened durin’ the film.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Indeed. Now, ahem, Rupert and the other boys- would you mind leaving the room for now? There are some things about Suzuhana’s body I’d like to investigate and it would be best for you to leave.”

 

RUPERT \- “Uh? Oh, aye, we’ll leave. C’mon, you lot.”

 

_ I usher Kenny and Ozzie out of the room to let Konstanze and Ola do their work. _

 

OZZIE \- “Poor Suzuhana…”

 

KENNY \- “She didn’t deserve to go like that...She didn’t deserve to go at all!”

 

_ He slumps over slightly, inspecting the bat in his hand- did he pick that up from his room?  _

 

RUPERT \- “That bat...ain’t tha’ evidence?”

 

_ He brandishes the bat, twisting it around so I can see it clearly- there’s no blood on it at all, it’s completely clean. _

 

KENNY \- “I think so. I left the bat in my room before we had dinner and when I found it just now, it wasn’t where I left it.”

 

OZZIE \- “Kenny, you...you didn’t kill Suzuhana, did you?”

 

_ There’s a split second of mortified silence until-- _

 

KENNY \- “No, I didn’t kill Suzuhana! Whether she hated me or not, I wouldn’t kill anybody. I thought I already told you that.”

 

OZZIE \- “I-I know, I know, I was just checking. We can’t really afford to mess around right now…”

 

RUPERT \- “That bein’ said, standin’ around doin’ nowt ain’t a good use o’ our time. We should start havin’ a gander at the place.”

 

KENNY \- “Rupert’s right. Why don’t we go find the others…”

  
  


**EVIDENCE - BASEBALL BAT**

  
  


_ Though it seemed like a dumb idea, we headed to the AV Room to see if there were any clues about Suzuhana’s murder. Inside, Kamogelo, Jingyi and the Chinese bear were already investigating. _

 

_ Jingyi looks incredibly tearful, gripping onto the bear's paw with such strength it’s crushed it entirely. The bear says nothing. _

 

OZZIE \- “H-Hey, Jingyi...are you okay?”

 

JINGYI \- “Jingyi is...very sad. Suzuhana was a good friend!”

 

CHINA \- “ 朋友”    _ (*Friend*) _

 

RUPERT \- “Oy, Jingyi. Ye left the movie ‘alfway through, din’tcha?”

 

_ Jingyi suddenly looks alarmed. _

 

JINGYI \- “Jingyi did not kill Suzuhana!”

 

RUPERT \- “Aye, aye, tha’s no’ what I meant. I mean, didja see anythin’ funny while you were out there?”

 

JINGYI \- “Something...funny…?”

 

OZZIE \- “He means, did you see anything strange while you were out getting popcorn?”

 

_ Jingyi looks thoughtful, swinging her arms back and forward, practically pulling the bear down as she does so. _

 

JINGYI \- “Jingyi...Jingyi saw Suzuhana going into room!”

 

RUPERT \- “Which room? Her room?”

 

JINGYI \- “Yes! Her room!”

 

_ Ozzie glances at me. _

 

OZZIE \- “What time would that be?”

 

RUPERT \- “Musta been ‘bout ‘alf hour into the movie. 7:30PM roughly?”

 

JINGYI \- “That’s all Jingyi saw! Nobody else!”

 

OZZIE \- “Thanks Jingyi. This is really helpful.”

 

_ Jingyi smiles, still somewhat tearfully, as she begins to babble in Chinese to her bear. _

 

 **EVIDENCE** **\- JINGYI’S ACCOUNT**

 

_ Over in the corner, Kamogelo and Kenny are talking with solemn expressions on their faces. _

 

KAMOGELO \- “There doesn’t seem to be anything out of place here. I’ve checked all the bookshelves and computer desks but there’s nothing else.”

 

KENNY \- “Makes sense, but on the off-chance the killer hid something in here, we can’t afford to skip out on investigating.”

 

KAMOGELO \- “I’m telling you, man, there’s nothing else here. Think I just needed to get Jingyi out of there for a bit, you know what I mean?”

 

KENNY \- “Yeah, I know what you mean. Is she okay?”

 

KAMOGELO \- “That bear seems to cheer her up a lot. It just appeared after we left the room and Jingyi’s been clinging to it ever since.”

 

KENNY \- “I get it. You sure you found absolutely nothing?”

 

_ Kamogelo scans the room briefly. _

 

KAMOGELO \- “It didn’t look important, but I did find somethin’ weird in the trash. Like a scrap of wood.”

 

KENNY \- “Wood…?”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Yeah, yeah. Kinda curved, got some plastic and metal bits stuck to it. Check it out, I left it in the trash can.”

 

RUPERT \- “An’ tha’ din’t look at all suspicious to you…?”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Honestly, not really, but if you guys think it might be a clue then take it.”

 

_ I turn around and Kenny’s already emptying the bin onto the floor. Christ. _

 

RUPERT \- “Steady on...Konnie’s gon’ make you clean tha’ up later anol…”

 

KENNY \- “Fine by me- check this out.”

 

_ True to Kamogelo’s word, Kenny picks up a slightly curved, smooth piece of wood. It’s splintered heavily on one side and on the other side, there are bits of metal and plastic stuck to it. Two long, thin wires hang from the metal. _

 

RUPERT \- “The fuck is that?”

 

KENNY \- “I dunno, but it looks suspicious, don’t it? I haven’t seen anything like this around.”

 

RUPERT \- “Should we keep it?”

 

KENNY \- “Definitely.”

 

**EVIDENCE - SCRAP FOUND IN AV ROOM**

 

_ There doesn’t appear to be much else I can do here. Kamogelo and Jingyi are nattering away in Chinese and Ozzie and Kenny are heading for the door already. _

 

_ The three of us head back into the main corridor. _

 

RUPERT \- “What next?”

 

KENNY \- “Suzuhana’s room.”

 

OZZIE \- “Why didn’t we go there earlier…?”

 

_ Despite Ozzie’s quiet comment, we decide to mosey over to Suzuhana’s room, where the door is shut tightly. Kenny fiddles with the handle for a while. _

 

KENNY \- “It’s no use, it’s locked shut. Does Suzuhana have the key?”

 

OZZIE \- “Konnie would’ve found it…”

 

RUPERT \- “Tha’s true. Means the key is somewhere else an’ if the killer bothered to hide it, there must be summat in there.”

 

KENNY \- “So where do we start looking?”

 

OZZIE \- “Well Suzuhana’s only really been in a few places. Her room, apparently Kenny’s room…”

 

KENNY \- “She didn’t come to the AV Room with us either.”

 

RUPERT \- “She been in the cafeteria, an’t she?”

 

KENNY \- “There’s a thought.”

 

OZZIE \- “Monokuma said the locks in this place were magnetic, but we use actual keys for our rooms, so...maybe if we really can’t find the key somebody could pick the lock?”

 

KENNY \- “Seems weird he wouldn’t have the same set of locks in every door, doesn’t it?”

 

MONOKUMA \- “It’s not weird at all, I’ll have you know!”

 

_ Oh joy. It’s Bear in the Big Murder House. _

 

RUPERT \- “Got summat to explain?”

 

MONOKUMA \- “The only reason they’re different is because you can lock the bedroom doors manually. You can’t with the other doors because only I can access the lock function.”

 

OZZIE \- “So...it’s so we can’t lock any of the other doors ourselves?”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Exactly! Of course, I can automatically lock your bedroom doors if I so wish, but that function is disabled for the time being. Think of it as granting you a bit of freedom~!”

 

RUPERT \- “Jus’ get outtavit. Piss off.”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Yeesh. Charming.”

 

_ Monokuma disappears as we head for the cafeteria where, oddly enough, we find quite a few people. Claude and Rosalie are talking quietly in French as they search the kitchen. Marcello stands in the corner by himself. _

 

RUPERT \- “Oy, Marcey..”

 

MARCELLO \- “I know you think I did it because I like Suzuhana, but it’s not true!”

 

_ There are small tears brimming in his eyes. He looks quite pale. _

 

MARCELLO \- “Perhaps if I had stayed with her, this would not have happened. I could’ve protected her.”

 

_ I refrain from telling Marcello he’s built like a dandelion, thus any attempts to defend Suzuhana would probably go wrong. _

 

RUPERT \- “Mebbe so, but right now, that don’t mean owt. We jus’ gotta find who did ‘er in.”

 

_ Marcello looks weakly down at the floor, before standing up slightly and squaring his shoulders. _

 

MARCELLO \- “You are right. I can’t let the murder of such a beautiful lady go unpunished!”

 

_ Well...at least he’s not crying. _

 

RUPERT \- “So, didja find anythin’?”

 

MARCELLO \- “Hah...I’m afraid not. I helped search the kitchen with Claude and Miss Rosalie but to no avail…”

 

_ Miss...Rosalie? Yeesh. _

 

RUPERT \- “Well...awright, jus’ keep lookin’ I guess.”

 

MARCELLO \- “Oh, I will do- for Suzuhana’s sake!”

 

_ Christ. _

 

_ Kenny and Ozzie are...currently crouched in the corner beside Lotika. _

 

LOTIKA \- “See? See? I do not know what this is!”

 

OZZIE \- “Kenny, that looks like…”

 

RUPERT \- “What issit?”

 

KENNY \- “Take a look…”

 

_ I peer over Kenny’s shoulder to where Lotika has emptied a trash can onto the floor. Lying there in front of him, is a medium-sized scrap of wood, splintered at both ends with a few pieces of wire tied around it. What the fuck? _

 

RUPERT \- “Oy, ‘old up, tha’s one o’ them wood bits we found earlier.”

 

KENNY \- “Exactly. This...explains nothing. I still dunno what it is.”

 

LOTIKA \- “Is it maybe a clue? Lotika does not know either!”

 

KENNY \- “Nah, I think you made a good find, Loti. Nice work!”

 

LOTIKA \- “You are very welcome!”

 

**EVIDENCE - SCRAP FOUND IN CAFETERIA**

 

_ We leave Lotika to put the rubbish back in the bin. _

 

KENNY \- “So...that’s another one of these scraps. The hell are they?”

 

OZZIE \- “I wonder if we can find any more…?”

 

KENNY \- “We’ll just have to keep lookin’. Hey, Claude!”

 

_ Claude looks up from his spot in doorway of the kitchen. _

 

CLAUDE \- “Kenny, if...you aren’t busy, would you mind giving me a hand? We think there’s something lodged in the drain…”

 

RUPERT \- “The what now?”

 

_ We walk into the kitchen where Rosalie is hunched over the sink, poking a chopstick down the drain. _

 

OZZIE \- “Something’s blocking it…?”

 

CLAUDE \- “Down the bottom. Rosalie noticed while she was washing her hands- you can just about see something in the light.”

 

KENNY \- “Oh yeah...hey, Rupert, hand me that skewer!”

 

_ I hand him a skewer. He began to push the skewer down the drain, wiggling it about as his did so. _

 

OZZIE \- “Would it be easier to just take the bit underneath apart?”

 

KENNY \- “Nah it’s not that far down. Just gotta...hold on a second--”

 

_ He withdraws the skewer, wiping it on his trousers before attempting to bend the sharp end. I watch him struggle and I’m about to make a snarky response, but...he actually manages to bend it, leaving him with a metal hook. He then pushes the hook down and twists it about a bit. _

 

KENNY \- “Ah, Rosie, can you just...kinda-- yeah twist it that way, that’s good. Now we just--”

 

_ A shrill screech fills the room of a skewer being dragged along a drain, followed by Kenny’s triumphant cry. _

 

KENNY \- “FOUND IT!”

 

_ He holds up whatever was lodged in the drain and now I can see it’s-- it’s a pair of keys. Are they…? _

 

OZZIE \- “Are they Suzuhana’s keys?”

 

_ Kenny checks the label and beams. _

 

KENNY \- “Sure is! C’mon, we gotta go to her room! Thanks a bunch you guys! You kinda saved our asses!”

 

CLAUDE \- “You’re welcome. We should...probably discard of the skewer before Kamogelo finds it.”

 

KENNY \- “Y-Yeah, you do that. If he finds it just tell him it was my fault.

 

RUPERT \- “It  _ was _ your fault, anol…”

 

_ Kenny laughs as he strides out of the cafeteria with Ozzie at his heels. _

 

_ I wonder if he realises he’s still the prime suspect here… _

 

_ Nonetheless, we’re now outside Suzuhana’s door and Kenny tries to jam the key into the lock. After a few moments of fiddling, he pushes the door open. _

 

_ Suzuhana’s room is the same as the rest of ours, but there is a long scroll hanging from the wall in the far corner. The bed-sheets have been torn from the bed and the furniture has been pushed over. Just...what happened here? _

 

OZZIE \- “U-Uh...hey, you guys? What’s...that?”

 

_ Kenny and I look over to where Ozzie is pointing and, on the bed, we can see a few blood splatters. Not large ones, just small droplets. _

 

KENNY \- “That’s pretty...telling.”

 

**EVIDENCE -  BLOOD SPLATTERS**

 

OZZIE \- “Something definitely happened here…poor Suzuhana.”

 

KENNY \- “Hey, Rupert- is there anything over there?”

 

_ There really isn’t. Checking the furniture, there’s no blood anywhere to be found and everything seems relatively intact.. The table remains unmoved, as well as a chair on the far side, but everything else seems to have been shifted one way or another.  _

 

_ Other than that bin in the corner. _

 

_ … _

 

_ I trot over to the bin, which remains upright, and looking inside… _

 

_...I knew it. Another woodscrap.  _

 

_ This one is similar to the first one, splintered only on one side and with the same metal and plastic bits. Five strings hang from this one. _

 

**EVIDENCE - SCRAP FOUND IN SUZUHANA’S ROOM**

 

KENNY \- “Hey, that’s another one of those…”

 

OZZIE \- “We don’t need to take all the tiny shards with us, do we? We can only really take the bigger bits.”

 

RUPERT \- “Aye, tha’ll be fine.”

 

_ Scanning the room, there’s not much left to look at. Kenny quickly checks the bathroom as Ozzie gathers the remaining pieces of wood. When they’re done, we leave. _

 

_ Standing outside Kenny’s room is Konstanze and Ola, who suddenly looked surprised by our appearance. _

 

KONSTANZE \- “You were able to get into the room? I thought it was locked.”

 

KENNY \- “We found the key in the drain in the kitchen. Lucky find, thanks to Rosie!”

 

OLA \- “Did you find anything?”

 

OZZIE \- “Just a few bits. Some bloodstains and a scrap of wood…”

 

OLA \- “Bloodstains…?”

 

RUPERT \- “Wha’bout you? Whatcha find?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Well as I first began to inspect the body, I found an incredibly large bruise on Suzuhana’a pubic bone.”

 

RUPERT \- “Her what now?”

 

OLA \- “The bone above the genitals; protrudes slightly. The bruising was so dark it must’ve received a lot of trauma.”

 

_ Kenny looks pale. _

 

KENNY \- “Y-You don’t think she...was...y’know.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “That was what I suspected, but upon further inspection of her body, she received no actual genital trauma.”

 

OLA \- “It was just the spot on the top, which is incredibly strange.”

 

RUPERT \- “Then what do tha’ mean?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “It’s best to explain during the trial, but long story short, we are sure she was not sexually assaulted.”

 

**EVIDENCE - KONSTANZE’S ACCOUNT**

 

_ Kenny sighs. _

 

KENNY \- “Christ, that….that’s a massive relief.”

 

OZZIE \- “I guess...that’s our silver lining. I still can’t believe she’s dead…”

 

RUPERT \- “Sucks anol, but....we gotta do this trial.”

 

_ *Bing Bong Bing Bong~!* _

 

_ *Ahem! It’s time to start the trial! Make your way to the center of the concourse!* _

  
  


_ Monokuma’s announcement has us glancing anxiously at one another; Konstanze and Ola leave first with us trailing behind. _

 

KENNY \- “...”

 

RUPERT \- “Oy...you okay?”

 

KENNY \- “Despite how...civil people are being- they still think I did it, don’t they?”

 

RUPERT \- “Well...obviously- I mean ye did leave early and din’t appear until after we found ‘er...an’ she was found in your room.”

 

KENNY \- “...”

 

RUPERT \- “Jus’ answer me one thing...where did you go?”

 

_ Kenny looks up in front of us, eyeing Konstanze, Ola and Ozzie all talking quietly to one another. Ola’s been eyeing Kenny- and not in a good way. Just as I thought they were starting to get along… _

 

KENNY \- “I went to my conference room. Just to...take a time out.”

 

RUPERT \- “Uh…? Whysat…?”

 

_ He’s annoyingly silent. _

 

RUPERT \- “Is this ‘cos of Suzuhana…? What she said?”

 

KENNY \- “Ahah...no hidin’ things from you, is there…?”

 

_ Actually it’s more the fact he’s incredibly transparent. _

 

KENNY \- “I know you told me not to take her seriously, but…”

 

RUPERT \- “Still ‘urts, don’t it? Still...why’d you go to the conference room?”

 

KENNY \- “I was...trying to find out more about them. Seems weirdly formal for such a nasty game, doesn’t it?”

 

RUPERT \- “That ballbag of a bear keeps callin’ this gaff a meetin’...”

 

KENNY \- “This...we should’ve discussed this before Suzuhana was killed…”

 

RUPERT \- “Yeah, but when yer trapped in a killin’ game with fifteen odd other people, you don’t really think of it all…Konnie’s been so worked up with tryna keep us all together and not at odds…”

 

KENNY \- “That’s why I need to take this initiative. We can’t sit back and let Konnie bust her ass tryna get us out. That’s why...I have to survive this.”

 

_ Kenny looks serious in his statement.  _

 

RUPERT \- “Tha’s fair…”

 

_ We stop at the centre of the concourse, where the rest of the group are standing and, whether they got along with Kenny before, they’re all eyeing him oddly because the trial starts now. _

 

_ Suddenly, the ground begins to shake, similar to an earthquake, before lowering. We descend further and further, watching the light from the roof slowly grow smaller, before disappearing entirely. _

 

_ No words are said during the descent, until we stop and leave through a small gate into a large, dome-like hall. _

 

_ The walls are dark wooden and the floor is polished marble. In front of us, in the centre of the room, are sixteen wooden podiums all arranged in a circle with a garish throne at the front. Monokuma is waiting patiently by the podiums. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “Ah, there you are! Finally…”

 

MARCELLO \- “W-What is this place? It looks like…”

 

KONSTANZE \- “A trial room. He plans to do this formally.”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Hey, hey, of course I do! I take this very seriously, I’ll have you know~!”

 

_ His tone is facetious. _

 

KAMOGELO \- “So...those stands are all for us?”

 

CLAUDE \- “It appears so. Look…”

 

_ Claude points over to where one podium is being occupied by a frame on a wooden stand. Suzuhana’s portrait is in the frame, black and white in colour, with a sickening, blood coloured cross over it. _

 

_ Everybody turns pale as that, soon enough, could be one of them. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “Not to dampen your despair here, but can we hurry things up a bit? Find your names on the podiums and stand at it!”

 

_ We hesitantly make our way to the podiums, searching for our names. I find my podium between Jingyi and Claude with Kenny directly opposite me. Suzuhana’s portrait stands further to my left. _

 

_ Monokuma clears his throat as he takes a seat on the throne. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “Now, allow me to explain the rules of this class trial! At the end of a trial, a suspect will be voted as the guilty party! If that suspect turns out to be the true culprit...then that culprit will be executed!”

 

KAMOGELO \- “E-Executed…!”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Of course! You did read your handbook, didn’t you?”

 

LEANDRO \- “That can’t be right! You can’t do that to us!”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Upupupu~ That’s where you’re wrong, kiddo! I can and will do this and that’s not the best part! Remember, if you get this wrong- you all get done in and the perp goes free!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “That can’t be! It’s unacceptable!”

 

JINGYI \- “J-Jingyi will find killer! Suzuhana will be revenged!”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Upupupu~ Are you all ready~!”

 

_ This is it. Everybody’s really eyeing Kenny now and...as much as I like him… _

 

_...I don’t know if I can trust him. _

 

_ Guess all that’s left now is to find out who really murdered Suzuhana Kawase, the Ultimate Koto Player. She wasn’t the nicest person around, but...she didn’t exactly deserve to die either, I guess… _

 

_ But for the sake of the rest of us, we’ve gotta pull through. _

  
  


MONOKUMA \- “Upupupu~ Let the trial begin~!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dabs*


	5. CHAPTER 1-4: NOW COMMENCING THE WORLD MEETING OF DESPAIR - TRIAL

MONOKUMA \- “Now starting the trial of Suzuhana Kawase- Ultimate Koto Player! Let’s begin~!”

 

_ This is it. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “Why don’t we start off by identifying the murder weapon?”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “That’s obvious- it was that baseball bat! You could see the bruises on her arms and face!”

 

CLAUDE \- “The bruises were very severe. I believe her wrists were broken…?”

 

OLA \- “Mhm. Both wrists broken and her nose- the baseball bat was found in the room at the time.”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Did the bat match up with the wrist wounds?”

 

OLA \- “The bat was definitely used to break her wrists! The width of the bat matches the width of the bruises.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “While I believe the bat was used to break her wrists, I don’t believe it was the murder weapon.”

 

MARCELLO \- “How did she die again? It...must’ve been that hit to the face!”

 

LEANDRO \- “Yeah, that looked pretty bad. A wallop to the face with a bat like that could be fatal.”

 

CLAUDE \- “Or in this case...has been fatal.”

 

OLA \- “Somehow...I’m not sure that could be the case. I think maybe something else could’ve been used to to hit her face.”

 

ROSALIE \- “But you say that...the bat is the correct...item for the wound?”

 

OLA \- “For the wrists, maybe…”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “So you don’t think the bat is the murder weapon? Is it maybe you know something?”

 

IDABELLA \- “Maybe the bat was placed there as a decoy?”

 

JINGYI \- “The bat is fake!”

 

OZZIE \- “No, that...the bat was in the room before the movie started.”

 

LEANDRO \- “How’d you know that…?”

 

CLAUDE \- “I believe Kenny took it back to his room. That raises some questions…”

 

_ Kenny is sweating. _

 

KONSTANZE \- “Why did you take the bat back to your room? Why not leave it in the game room?”

 

KENNY \- “It was...just in case.”

 

MARCELLO \- “Just in case? You were the one who told us we needed to trust everybody!”

 

ROSALIE \- “Hypocrisy.”

 

KENNY \- “I....”

 

KONSTANZE \- “It’s...disconcerting that you did this, especially since it pins the most suspicion on you.”

 

MARCELLO \- “Suzuhana was found in his room! That’s not the most suspicious thing about this?”

 

JINGYI \- “Kenny killed Suzuhana…?”

 

KENNY \- “I didn’t!”

 

CLAUDE \- “Then why the bat?”

 

KAMOGELO \- “You...can’t deny you took it for protection…”

 

LOTIKA \- “But he said we needed to trust! Was that all a lie, Kenny~?”

 

KENNY \- “I...I just…”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “Does this mean he really did do it?”

 

RUPERT \- “He did it ‘cause I told ‘im to!”

 

_ The beginnings of an argument grow silent. _

 

KONSTANZE \- “You what…?”

 

RUPERT \- “Just...in case summat bad happened. In case somebody tried to break in- even if he don’t use it, ‘e’s still got it.”

 

ZLATA \- “запугивание”     _ (*Intimidation*) _

 

KENNY \- “It...it wasn’t a good idea to take it with me. I guess I get that…”

 

MARCELLO \- “But that still doesn’t make up for the fact Suzuhana is dead! Why didn’t you think of that before you took it!”

 

KENNY \- “...!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Marcello, calm down. We need to clear this up…”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Starting with...the face wound. Ola doesn’t think it was caused by the bat….”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “But the bat’s the only thing that could’ve been used.”

 

LOTIKA \- “Then what is the truth~?”

 

_ I think Ola might be onto something, but I can’t prove that something else was used, which means I have to prove the bat wasn’t used. _

 

_ Kenny is staring down at his podium with an unreadable expression. Maybe if he hadn’t taken the bat, this might not have happened. _

 

_ Maybe if I hadn’t edged him to take it, Suzuhana would be alive… _

 

_ Either way, there’s no time for that now. The courtroom is split between two decisions but Kenny is the only suspect. I have to get Kenny out of this and quickly, but the real question is... _

 

_...how do I prove the bat wasn’t used to hit Suzuhana’s face…? _

 

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

 

“So...if the bat was used to break her wrists, then  **_why wasn’t it used to break her face too_ ** ?”

 

“Suzuhana has a broken face!”

 

“Well, her wrists  **_had to have been broken before her nose_ ** since that was the killing blow, right?”

 

“Maybe **_something else could’ve been used_ ** …?”

 

“It had to have been the bat! There’s  **_nothing else that could’ve been used_ ** !”

 

“The baseball bat has  **_all the proof we need_ ** !”

 

“So they  **_broke her wrists and then killed her with a blow to the head_ ** …? A baseball bat could do that…”

 

“It’s just I don’t think they  **_match up correctly_ ** is all!”

  
  


_ Something...didn’t sound quite right there. Think, think… _

 

_ I think I’ve got it…! _

  
  


**_“...all the proof we need…”_ **     ------>       **EVIDENCE - BASEBALL BAT**

  
  


RUPERT \- “Hold up a second! The baseball bat itself proves it weren’t used t’bash ‘er face in!”

 

LOTIKA \- “That sounds backwards~!”

 

LEANDRO \- “But the bat  _ was _ used to break her wrists! Ola even confirmed that!”

 

OLA \- “That is true. I don’t retract that fact…”

 

RUPERT \- “Alright, so the bat were used to break ‘er wrists but there’s one thing about the bat tha’ shows it weren’t used to break ‘er face.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “I believe I understand what Rupert now means.”

 

MARCELLO \- “W-What is it? Tell us!”

 

RUPERT \- “Bloodstains. Suzuhana’s face is caked in blood so...whatever was used to ‘it ‘er  _ had _ to ‘ave gotten blood on it.”

 

LOTIKA \- “Rupert is right! There is no blood!”

 

LEANDRO \- “Eh? Couldn’t they have washed it off?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “But even if they washed it, what was the point of putting the bat back in the room? Why not put it back in the game room and hide it altogether?”

 

OZZIE \- “Not just that- it’s very difficult to wash things from wood and the wood generally stays damp for a long time after…”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “So if the bat wasn’t used to hit her in the face, then what was?”

 

CLAUDE \- “It seems impossible to tell at this point. It doesn’t seem like something a normal fist could accomplish…”

 

MARCELLO \- “We can figure that out later! I just wanna know...why was Suzuhana undressed?”

 

IDABELLA \- “I think we all know why…”

 

ZLATA \- “Кто-то отвратительный в нашей группе ... я не буду его принимать.”    _ (*Somebody this disgusting in our group...I will not stand for it.*) _

 

KONSTANZE \- “I’m glad this point has been brought up because not only is it relevant to the use of the bat, but I’ve been meaning to clear this up. Upon inspecting the body, I found a large, severe bruise on Suzuhana’s pubic bone.”

 

LEANDRO \- “Shit. Poor Suzuhana…”

 

CLAUDE \- “It’s nasty…”

 

KONSTANZE \- “But before you go jumping to conclusions, I did decide to thoroughly check the both and the lack of actual genital trauma led me to believe she was not sexually assaulted.”

 

_ This was what she was talking about earlier. _

 

MARCELLO \- “Grazie a Dio…”    _ (*Thank God*) _

 

LOTIKA \- “I am very happy that didn’t happen! Even though Suzuhana is still dead!”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Loti…”

 

KENNY \- “Okay but, then where did the bruise come from? Was that the bat as well?”

 

MARCELLO \- “You’re telling us you don’t know?”

 

KENNY \- “Look I didn’t do it!”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “How can we trust you?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Enough! I asked Ola to examine the bruise and we believe the bat was also used to inflict the bruise.”

 

OLA \- “The shape of the end of the bat matches up with the bruise just fine.”

 

CLAUDE \- “Alright but then why did they hit her pubic bone specifically? Her body clearly doesn’t look as if it were beaten recklessly.”

 

ROSALIE \- “It was controlled.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “That is indeed the big question. The marks are incredibly specific. Why would the killer go to the trouble of targeting specific points on the body?”

 

OZZIE \- “Maybe it was...to make sure we thought it was sexual assault? To lead us away!”

 

KAMOGELO \- “But what’s the reasoning behind that? Why would the killer want to make us believe she was assaulted like that?”

 

_ That’s right, there’s no reason to make us believe such a thing… _

 

KONSTANZE \- “It is incredibly hard to determine such a thing at this stage, but for the time being I believe there is another topic that requires our attention.”

 

JINGYI \- “What, what?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Suzuhana’s room.”

 

MARCELLO \- “I-It was locked when I tried to go in and I couldn’t find the key anywhere!”

 

LEANDRO \- “I even had a go at bustin’ the door down until Monokuma came up and yelled at me.”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Well that’s what you get for attacking facility property! Next time I might just kill you!”

 

LEANDRO \- “U-Ulp…!”

 

CLAUDE \- “That’s alright considering we found the key. Well...Rosalie found the key.”

 

KAMOGELO \- “You found it? Where?”

 

ROSALIE \- “A drain.”

 

JINGYI \- “A drain…?”

 

KENNY \- “She found it stuck down the drain in the kitchen sink- we managed to fish it out!”

 

OZZIE \- “We managed to get into Suzuhana’s room!”

 

MARCELLO \- “But how did her key end up in the drain? Did the killer do that, too?”

 

LEANDRO \- “Then...the killer locked Suzuhana’s door? Why? What was he trying to hide?”

 

KENNY \- “The place was a mess. It looked exactly the same as my room did. I’m...starting to think Suzuhana may have been killed in her own room…”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “But that’s just you trying to take the blame away from yourself!”

 

JINGYI \- “You’re a distraction!”

 

RUPERT \- “Nah I think he might be onto summat there…I mean...why else would ‘er room be a tip?”

 

MARCELLO \- “Her room was just fine when I said goodnight to her!”

 

LEANDRO \- “There’s no proof she was killed in her room. Both rooms have been messed up!”

 

OLA \- “I don’t think Suzuhana was killed in Kenny’s room at all!”

 

OZZIE \- “Yeah!”

 

MARCELLO  \- “How can you be so sure?”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “The evidence is all there!”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Ohoho~ It looks like we’re perfectly split! This calls for a very special kind of debate I’ve prepared for you!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “A special debate?”

 

MONOKUMA \- “You betcha! I’d hold on tight- it’s time for a Scrum Debate!”

 

_ Monokuma dramatically pulls out a key, twists it into a lock on his chair and I feel the ground below me rumble. I grip the podium tightly as I feel it rise into the air amongst the others. _

 

_ This isn’t like the other debates thus far. We’re equally split and it’ll be hard to prove to the others just what really happened. Kenny still looks pale- he’s gripping the podium so hard his knuckles have turned white, but there’s no time for that now. _

 

_ Now’s the time to prove Suzuhana wasn’t killed in Kenny’s room… _

 

_...and maybe deflect all suspicion from Kenny! _

  
  


**COMMENCING SCRUM DEBATE**

 

**SUZUHANA WAS KILLED IN KENNY’S ROOM**

 

**VS**

 

**SUZUHANA WAS KILLED IN HER OWN ROOM**

  
  
  


IDABELLA \- “Kenny just can’t have killed Suzuhana!”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “Suzuhana was found in his room- isn’t that proof enough!?”

 

OZZIE \- “But there was no reason for Kenny to go near Suzuhana’s room in the first place!”

 

LEANDRO \- “Unless he was planning to murder her, maybe she invited him there?”

 

KAMOGELO \- “You’re forgetting the fact Kenny was watching the movie with us!”

 

ROSALIE \- “But he was gone by end of film!”

 

OLA \- “So then why would he leave the body in his own room?”

 

JINGYI \- “Suzuhana locked room!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “But the killer placed the keys in the sink drain, which means the killer also had access to her room!”

 

CLAUDE \- “He needed Suzuhana in his room so he could use the baseball bat without arising her suspicions!”

 

ZLATA \- “But bat not weapon. It not kill her.”

 

LOTIKA \- “Kenny could have done it without a weapon! He is strong enough!”

 

KENNY \- “But if I used my hands, you’d be able to tell! It doesn’t prove she was killed in my room!”

 

MARCELLO \- “Maybe you made it look like you were framed! There is no proof Suzuhana was killed in her room and that’s final!”

 

RUPERT \- “Suzuhana was killed in ‘er room an’ I got the evidence to prove it!!”

  
  


_ This is our answer!! _

  
  


**EVIDENCE - BLOOD SPLATTERS**

 

RUPERT \- “There are bloodstains on Suzuhana’s bed! Bloodstains that musta come from ‘er face wound!”

 

LEANDRO \- “You’re kidding me…”

 

KAMOGELO \- “But if the bat wasn’t used, then what was…?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “We are still unsure…”

 

OLA \- “Ah...something I’ve been meaning to bring up. Though I believe the bat wasn’t used to attack her face, I don’t think her facial wound was what killed her.”

 

_ That’s right...Ola’s talking about… _

 

_ -Broken Wrists _

_ -Line Around Neck     ← _

_ -Pubic Bone Bruise _

 

RUPERT \- “You’re talkin’ ‘bout the line ‘round ‘er neck, aren’tcha?”

 

LOTIKA \- “A line around her neck~?”

 

LEANDRO \- “Then...was she strangled by a rope or something?”

 

OLA \- “A rope is too thick to match the wound, but we can’t find anything thin enough to match it…”

 

KONSTANZE \- “But strangulation is a possibility…?”

 

OLA \- “Of course…”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Then...Kenny, Ozzie and Rupert, did you find anything else in Suzuhana’s room?”

 

KENNY \- “Well aside from the bloodstains and the room bein’ messed up…”

 

OZZIE \- “We found another of those scraps of wood…”

 

IDABELLA \- “Scraps of wood?”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Like the one in the AV Room?”

 

RUPERT \- “Exactly…”

 

KONSTANZE \- “What exactly are these wood scraps you’re talking about?”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Well...I found this weird scrap of wood with metal and strings hangin’ off it in the trash can in the AV Room.”

 

LOTIKA \- “Yes, yes, I found a similar scrap in the rubbish bin in the Cafeteria!”

 

RUPERT \- “Then we found another in the bin in Suzuhana’s room too…”

 

IDABELLA \- “And that’s...three pieces in all?”

 

KENNY \- “They’re pretty splintered so we had to leave the little bits behind but, yeah...we don’t know what they are though.”

 

LEANDRO \- “Man I don’t have a clue what that could be…”

 

MARCELLO \- “Does it fit together?”

 

JINGYI \- “Raaah! You are all fool!”

 

_ Jingyi strides over and snatches the pieces out of my hands, before sitting in the middle of the podiums and placing the pieces in order. _

 

JINGYI \- “It is koto! It is Suzuhana’s talent!  白痴!”     _ (*Idiot!*) _

 

KENNY \- “That’s a koto? Man I thought it was somethin’ else…”

 

OLA \- “But why is it broken? Surely Suzuhana could not have broken it?”

 

LOTIKA \- “She would not break her own instrument!”

 

ROSALIE \- “The killer had broke it.”

 

JINGYI \- “Ahah! Jingyi found reason! Jingyi knows weapon!”

 

_ Jingyi stands up triumphantly. _

 

KONSTANZE \- “What is it?”

 

_ Jingyi gestures down to the broken koto, as she lays the strings out across the broken wood, before pointing to the very end. _

 

JINGYI \- “Missing string! Is very thin! Very very thin!”

 

OLA \- “That...looks the same thickness as the wound!”

 

MARCELLO \- “A-And the string is gone! Does that mean the killer hid it seperately?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Well the killer went to the trouble of breaking the entire koto and hiding it in different places- perhaps as a failsafe they hid the very string they used.”

 

LEANDRO \- “But we didn’t find a string like that anywhere!”

 

OZZIE \- “T-Then...maybe the killer has it on their person?”

 

KAMOGELO \- “But...it’s safe to say the koto string was the weapon?”

 

KONSTANZE \- “I believe so.”

 

MARCELLO \- “Alright, then...but what I want to know is why Kenny left the movie midway through?”

 

RUPERT \- “He went to ‘is conference room. ‘e was kinda gutted ‘bout his row wi’ Suzuhana.”

 

KENNY \- “I was also investigating the conference room further…that’s why I turned up late.”

 

OZZIE \- “If...Kenny didn’t want to look suspicious to the others, maybe he would’ve arrived to the scene with the rest of us.”

 

IDABELLA \- “But...we all lock our doors before we go to sleep, right? So how, if he ws the killer, did he convince Suzuhana to come out of her room? Out of all of us, Kenny is the person she’d least likely open her door to.”

 

_ That’s true. Just how and what would convince Suzuhana to come out of her room…? _

 

_ I’ve got to figure this out. _

  
  


**NONSTOP DEBATE**

 

“Suzuhana  **_wouldn’t open her door to anybody_ ** until the morning!”

 

“She even  **_kicked me out before the movie started_ ** ! She said goodnight and I left.”

 

“There’s only  **_a few people Suzuhana was close to_ ** here…”

 

“She opened the door and  **_was attacked_ ** !”

 

“So if Suzuhana  **_went to bed before the movie started_ ** , then wouldn’t she be asleep if anybody tried to knock on her door?”

 

“Suzuhana does not like disturbance~!”

 

“Maybe she invited somebody in?”

 

“But if she kicked Marcey out, then  **_why would she invite somebody else_ ** ?”

 

“We were  **_all watching the movie_ ** !”

  
  


_ Something doesn’t add up here. Just what was Suzuhana doing during the movie…? _

 

_ I’ve got it. _

  
  


**“...went to bed before the movie started…”   ------ >   EVIDENCE - JINGYI’S ACCOUNT**

  
  


RUPERT \- “Jingyi...earlier ye said you left the movie to get more popcorn, right?”

 

JINGYI \- “Yes! Jingyi ate all her popcorn!”

 

KAMOGELO \- “What’s that got to do with anything…?”

 

RUPERT \- “So...what were it you saw while ye were out there?”

 

JINGYI \- “Jingyi saw Suzuhana go into her room!”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “Huh? After the movie started? I thought she went to bed before it started?”

 

MARCELLO \- “I thought she did! She told me goodnight and that’s when I caught up with the other guys outside the AV Room.”

 

KENNY \- “Aside from Suzuhana, we were all in the AV Room for the movie!”

 

ZLATA \- “But only...at start.”

 

LEANDRO \- “That’s true, Kenny left midway the movie!”

 

OZZIE \- “Actually, Kenny left towards the end of the movie.”

 

KENNY \- “I didn’t even go down the dormitory corridor!”

 

CLAUDE \- “Then somebody left the movie midway? How would they be able to do that without our noticing?”

 

ROSALIE \- “Do anybody...remember. After Jingyi had return...the door was open.”

 

LOTIKA \- “Yes, yes, the door was wide open~! Somebody shut it!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “But...what if they never shut the door from our side? What if they left and shut the door behind them?”

 

KENNY \- “It would be their window of opportunity to leave without anybody noticing!”

 

KAMOGELO \- “It’s possible they could’ve left with an excuse like going to the toilet but using that opportunity has just concealed them further.”

 

RUPERT \- “But...if you think about it, there’s only one person it can really be.”

 

_ That’s right. Putting together the fact Suzuhana wouldn’t open her door to anybody...the fact somebody slipped out in the middle of the movie to meet her...there’s only one person it can logically be…!! _

 

**SUSPECT SOMEBODY**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://www.strawpoll.me/13713060/r
> 
> Go vote for your favourite characters!


	6. CHAPTER 1-5: NOW COMMENCING THE WORLD MEETING OF DESPAIR - TRIAL END

“You’re the only person who could’ve done this... _ Marcello Marino!” _

 

MARCELLO \- “W-What! How can you say that!?”

 

LEANDRO \- “It’s true he coulda done it, but...Marcello really liked Suzuhana! He had no reason to kill her!”

 

MARCELLO \- “Exactly! I loved Suzuhana- why would I kill her!?”

 

RUPERT \- “Um…’cos you believed you wouldn’t get found out…?”

 

MARCELLO \- “That’s no reason!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “While it’s true he had the opportunity, you should be careful just who you accuse, Rupert.”

 

RUPERT \- “I am...I think Marcello did it.”

 

OLA \- “I...I think so too…”

 

MARCELLO \- “You have no proof of that! You cannot accuse me without proof!”

 

RUPERT \- “Didja leave the movie midway?”

 

MARCELLO \- “No!!”

 

RUPERT \- “Alright...then wha’ happens to Violet after she eats the gum?”

 

MARCELLO \- “H-Huh!?”

 

RUPERT \- “In fact, if ye were there fer the movie, ‘xplain to us what ‘appens at the end.”

 

MARCELLO \- “N-Ngh!”

 

RUPERT \- “‘Cos there ain’t a way you coulda snuck in wi’out us knowin’...so tell us. What happens?”

 

_ Marcello is red-faced, gripping the edges of his podium with a bead of sweat on his forehead. _

 

MARCELLO \- “I-I...I wasn’t paying attention!”

 

RUPERT \- “Bollocks! You weren’t there to watch the bloody film to begin with!”

 

MARCELLO \- “H-Hah!!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Marcello, is this true?”

 

JINGYI \- “D-Did you kill Suzuhana!?”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “E-Eh!?”

 

OLA \- “Did you leave the AV Room?”

 

_ Marcello looks pained. _

 

MARCELLO \- “I-I did leave the AV Room….that part is true.”

 

IDABELLA \- “But why?”

 

MARCELLO \- “S...Suzuhana asked me to! S-She said to leave the movie halfway and come and meet her! That’s all!”

 

RUPERT \- “So...wha’ happened when ye got there…?”

 

MARCELLO \- “T-The door was locked!”

 

LEANDRO \- “Locked….?”

 

JINGYI \- “The killer killed already!”

 

RUPERT \- “Marcey, you’re fuckin’ talkin’ our yer arse an’ I know it.”

 

MARCELLO \- “N-Ngh, what I’m saying is the truth! I swear!”

 

_ He’s willing to swear it. I can’t reason with him logically… _

 

_ I have to get the truth out of him… _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**PANIC TALK ACTION**

  
  


“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

 

**_Yes you do!_ **

 

“Just because I was close to          ….       Suzuhana- that means nothing! Nothing!”

 

**_You’re a liar!!_ **

**_………………….._ **

“Anybody could’ve done this! Not just me!      __ **_Accept it!_ ** _        …..                     _ You’re just trying          ...         to target me!!”

_                                     . . . . . .    ………………………………………..              …………….. _

__ “ I didn’t kill her! I loved her!”  _ So you keep saying…                    …………….. . . . . . .  . . . . _

__ **_But why did you really kill her!!_ **

__ _       ,,¿¡ʍou ɹǝɥ ƃuᴉpuǝɟǝp noʎ ǝɹɐ ʎɥM ¡ɐuɐɥnznS pǝʇɐɥ llɐ no⅄,, _

__ **_You’re a liar!!_ **

**_. . . . .  ………………………………………………………._ **

__ “Stop trying to pin the blame on me!”    …… . . 

**_!ƃuᴉɥʇǝɯos ƃuᴉpᴉɥ You’re                                    -------------   -   -   -   -  -_ **

**** **** “Shut up!!”

**_………………………..                                                                   You’re just delaying the inevitable!_ **

  “¡ʎuuǝʞ uǝǝq ǝʌɐɥ oʇ pɐɥ ʇI” 

**_Just give up                               you’re the killer!!_ **

………………………. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

  * \- - - - - - - - “I swear I didn’t kill her!”



“I keep telling you I didn’t kill Suzuhana!”

“Just stop trying to accuse me!!”                         _  _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

**_This isn't getting us anywhere._ **

  
  


“I’m not the killer and you have no proof! Suzuhana’s room was locked when I got there which means she was  _ dead before I left the AV Room!” _

 

**_You’re a bloody liar, Marcello…_ **

 

**_...and I’ve got the proof to show you._ **

  
  
  


**EVIDENCE - OLA’S ACCOUNT**

 

RUPERT \- “According t’ Ola, the blood on Suzuhana’s face is dried, which means she can’t o’ died until a lot earlier through t’film…”

 

OLA \- “As blood dries, it becomes darker and darker. Suzuhana’s facial wound was pretty severe, meaning it would’ve bled quite a lot.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “So for it to have dried by the time we arrived at the scene, the murder must’ve been committed long before the end of the film.”

 

OLA \- “Mm, so long before that...it’s very likely she was  _ dead before Kenny left the AV Room.” _

 

_ Which means he’s in the clear. Thank fuck… _

 

RUPERT \- “An’ since nobody else left the AV Room...there’s really only one person it can be.”

 

_ Marcello looks pale, as if he’s about to be sick. _

 

LEANDRO \- “Marcey, did you...really kill Suzuhana?”

 

KIM-SEONG \- “I thought you liked her!”

 

LOTIKA \- “Perhaps the motive was just too powerful for him!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “That’s all well and good but, if Marcello really is the killer then he’ll be able to answer a question that’s been on my mind for quite some time now.”

 

MARCELLO \- “I-I…”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Just why was Suzuhana undressed? And why did you feel the need to disguise it as sexual assault?”

 

MARCELLO \- “....Fine. I’ll tell you.”

 

_ He looks...darker than before. Just what’s up with this guy…? _

 

IDABELLA \- “A-Are you admitting to the crime?!”

 

JINGYI \- “H-He killed Suzuhanaaaaaaa!!”

 

MARCELLO \- “But only because I want to clear something up right now.”

 

RUPERT \- “Then...go ahead. We’ll listen.”

 

_ The expression on Marcello’s face can only be described as acceptance. We all know he is now the killer and so does he, but...just what is it he wants to tell us? So much that he’d admit to being the killer? _

 

MARCELLO \- “I’ll explain it all. I...was called to Suzuhana’s room by her to discuss something. She told me to come midway through the movie during a time you would all be busy.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “But why?”

 

MARCELLO \- “She...told me she was planning to kill somebody and that...she needed my help.”

 

KENNY \- “....!!”

 

OLA \- “W-What?!”

 

LOTIKA \- “Wow, wow~!”

 

LEANDRO \- “T-That….”

 

MARCELLO \- “It’s true. She told me she needed me to do things for her and it...involved killing Kenny.”

 

_ What the fuck…? _

 

_ Kenny’s expression is dead. _

 

MARCELLO \- “S-She...explained the plan to me. Said I’d have to do most of the dirty work and at the time I...I wasn’t sure. I wanted to her escape! I really did but, then…”

 

MARCELLO \- “Then she... _ tried to seduce me. _ ”

 

KONSTANZE \- “What?”

 

CLAUDE \- “Se...duce?”

 

MARCELLO \- “Exactly...I didn’t expect her to but then I-I realised she was going to seduce me to convince me to carry out the murder and then  _ pin it all on me! _ I think...she knew the motive wasn’t real.”

 

KAMOGELO \- “She...really planned something like that?”

 

MARCELLO \- “Before I knew it she’d backed me onto the bed and was taking her kimono off. It was then I realise what she planned to do and...I-I had to get out of there! So...I headbutted her. Hard.”

 

OLA \- “Right in the face…”

 

MARCELLO \- “She started freaking out and hitting me and, I...I couldn’t let her leave like that! Who knows what she’d tell you guys! I-I panicked and ripped one of those strings from the koto and…”

 

_ His eyes are wide and unblinking as he stares down into the floor. _

 

MARCELLO \- “I’m...sick of being treated like a pervert. So what if I have a love for the ladies? I also have a girlfriend back home and...I wasn’t about to let Suzuhana win me over just like that. If she left telling you guys I beat her up you’d all kill me!”

 

LEANDRO \- “Marcey…”

 

MARCELLO \- “But then I realised...after I killed her, I can’t tie a kimono properly! I have no idea where to begin and if she was just found naked it would look weird so...I tried to make it look like she’d been sexually assault to give a reason as to why she was undressed.”

 

RUPERT \- “You kinda messed that up…”

 

MARCELLO \- “I couldn’t hurt her like that whether she was dead or alive! I couldn’t hurt any woman like that!”

 

MARCELLO \- “Then I realised you’d notice the koto was missing a string so...I had to get rid of it somehow. I broke it and put it in different places and locked the door just in case. Easier than getting rid of the sheets altogether.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Then you took Suzuhana into Kenny’s room and made it look like he was the killer…?”

 

MARCELLO \- “Yes. I...I thought I might as well….I wasn’t about to admit what I did.”

 

IDABELLA \- “But you did anyway…”

 

MARCELLO \- “Because I want to prove that I’m not just some token pervert. What Suzuhana did wasn’t anything to do with me and I didn’t want to do that. If I’m going to die, I at least want to prove I’m not what you thought I am.”

 

_ Well...fuck. _

 

KONSTANZE \- “That is...oddly noble of you.”

 

LEANDRO \- “Damnit, Marcey...you shoulda let her run away!”

 

MARCELLO \- “I let my own pride and reputation get in the way. I know that. It does not matter anyway considering I’m going to be punished for this...isn’t that right Monokuma?”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Oho you’re damn right you are! Now, it’s time to cast your votes as to who killed Suzuhana Kawase!”

 

_ And so Marcello Marino ended up the murderer of Suzuhana Kawase due to an unfortunate set of circumstances out of his control, yet in the end he ended up admitting to his murder to prove he was somebody worth respecting. _

 

_ Somehow, I feel sorry for this guy, but he doesn’t appear upset. _

 

_ It’s probably the shock. _

 

MONOKUMA \- “Your votes have been cast and the vote is unanimous. Indeed, the killer was Marcello Marino! What a surprise….not!!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “Marcello, I--”

 

MARCELLO \- “I guess I messed up really bad. I’m sorry you couldn’t protect us all, but...if you wouldn’t mind doing something for me…?”

 

OLA \- “What is it?”

 

KAMOGELO \- “Anything, man…”

 

MARCELLO \- “Don’t...blame Suzuhana for this. This isn’t strictly her fault.”

 

CLAUDE \- “But she was plotting a murder…”

 

MARCELLO \- “There is a lot you don’t know about her. She has many of her own secrets that I’ve been lucky to learn this past day, so...forgive her if you can. Perhaps you, too, will learn her secrets soon enough.”

 

KENNY \- “What do you mean by that…?”

 

MONOKUMA \- “That’s enough chitchat for now! Time to say goodbye to your little buddy, ‘cause it’s punishment time~!”

 

_ With glee, Monokuma whips out a gavel and ceremoniously whacks a button in front of the throne. I hold my breath, anticipating the punishment of Marcello Marino. He...really wasn’t all that bad a guy once you got down to it. _

  
  
  
  


**MARCELLO MARINO HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY!**

**TIME FOR HIS PUNISHMENT~!**

  
  


_ ‘Race Against Charon’ _

  
  
  


The scene opens with Marcello, who is sat on a thin, black-and-white gondola, swaying side to side in a large body of water. Either side of him, are large metal walls that seem to stretch either way for miles- it’s a grim reminder of his home in Italy.

 

In the distance, there is a light that signals freedom.

 

With a creak, the metal walls beside him begin to slowly close in. He quickly takes up his paddle and begins to row furiously in an attempt to paddle his way to freedom. As he begins to speed up, the water bubbles, and a shoal of robotic Monokuma piranhas race towards the boat and attack it with their sharp teeth.

 

Marcello sweats, but doesn’t give up hope as he begins to row faster, but the fish dig their jaws into the wood of the boat, causing several leaks to spring. Marcello is moving at an unimaginable speed, but the piranhas keep up and as the wood from the boat is slowly stripped away, the boat shudders and begins to lower into the water.

 

Realising he cannot row any further, Marcello throws his paddle aside and dives into the water, breaking out in a powerful, mad swim towards the exit. The piranhas direct their attention to Marcello now, swimming beside him and taking chunks out of his legs and torso with their teeth. 

 

Despite his own blood mixing into the murky water, he desperately attempts to swim to freedom, reaching his hand out and as he’s about to touch the light--

 

\--the walls beside him suddenly slam shut, crushing Marcello and sending a jet of blood spewing from between the metal.

 

As the walls slowly separate, Marcello’s mangled corpse slides down into the water, where it is devoured by the piranhas.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_ The silence that follows Marcello’s death is unbelievably sickening, as his corpse continues to be eaten by piranhas. The screen we watched the execution take place on suddenly flickers to black and...there’s nothing. _

 

_ Is this...what true despair is? _

 

_ I may have not believed it at first but… _

 

_....we’re going to die. _

  
  


LEANDRO \- “Wh….What the FUCK!?”

 

JINGYI \- “YAAAAAAHHH!!”

 

KONSTANZE \- “G-Gott...im himmel....”

 

OLA \- “O-Oh my…”

 

LOTIKA \- “Farewell, our friend Marcello!  अलविदा!”    _ (*Goodbye*) _

 

KAMOGELO \- “We...let this happen.”

 

_ Beside me, Kenny is still staring at the screen with pale-faced dread. He’s sweating, trembling and he looks like he’s about to be sick. On my other side, Ozzie stands with his hat pulled over his face. _

 

_ This is real. We’re going to die. _

 

CLAUDE \- “Mon dieu….”

 

MONOKUMA \- “Well, that’s the end of the first trial! I gotta say it was a thrill! I’m excited to see what other plans you guys will come up with! Upupupu~”

 

_ We want to retort- tell him there will be no plans and that we won’t subject ourselves to his game but… _

 

_...we already have. _

 

_ He’s already won. _

 

_ We trudge back into the lift and ascend back into the center of the concourse in utmost silence. Everybody is tired, scared and grasping onto what little hope they have left. _

 

KAMOGELO \- “Maybe...maybe it’s best if we just all turn in for the night.”

 

KONSTANZE \- “.....I agree.”

 

_ Konstanze is visibly shaken by this entire ordeal and none of us are remotely surprised. Both she and Kenny created measures to prevent this from happening, yet it happened anyway. Somehow...we all feel as if we’ve failed them both. _

 

_ We silently return to our rooms and lying in bed is such a surreal feeling now. Just last night, I was lying in this exact spot, only Marcello and Suzuhana were still alive and the severity of the situation hadn’t yet sunk in. It’s not until somebody truly succumbs to this game, do you realise you’re playing. _

 

_ As I stare up at the ceiling, I realise I’ve forgotten to lock my door. _

 

_ … _

 

_ Whatever. _

  
  
  
  
  


**CHAPTER 1 FINISH**

  
  
  


**SURVIVORS - 14**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it was super obvious right
> 
>  
> 
> https://discord.gg/qx4dZx3 we have a wds discord server too! the link shouldn't expire so it's chill but come join us~


End file.
